***Accuses Okowa of mismanaging
N4.2trn state funds
By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
The Deputy Senate President, Chief Ovie Omo-Agege has expressed optimism that he will win the 2023 Delta state governorship election even as he has accused the incumbent Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of squandering 4.2 trillion naira of state funds without any sign of infrastructural developments.
Omo-Agege who said this while briefing State House Correspondents after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday, insists that Delta is very ripe for takeover by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Deputy Senate President’s dialogue with reporters went thus:
Question: Welcome to the State House, Abuja. Can you tell us why you are here today?
Answer: “Thanks for having me. As you know, it’s customary for most of us to visit Mr. President during the Christmas and the New Year. But as most of you know, I’ve been embedded in my campaign for governor in Delta State.
“And as a consequence of that, I was not able to make the visits and also because of the Christmas celebration I have to dash to the United States of America (USA) for a couple of days, and I’m back and I thought, before commencing the second round of my campaigns, I have to stop by and visit Mr President that principally is what brought me in addition to discussions of issues of national affairs”.
Q: “It’s good, you reminded us of your ambition in Delta state, to many, that’s a very herculean task, because Delta is PDP, how do you hope to get anything out from Delta state in this coming election?
A: “Thank you very much. That is a very serious misconception to tag Delta state, a PDP state, not by any means. Okowa is very ripe for the taking. Delta is very ripe for the taking. We are determined to achieve this, we’ve been going round each local governments ward by ward, making the case drawing the attention of the people of the state to the misgovernance and lack of performance on the part of not just Okowa but the PDP led a administration in the past 14 years, but most especially in the last seven and a half years; and the message we’re saying to people is resonating.
“We’ve been able to make the case to them, that Delta state is supposedly a very, very rich state and indeed a very rich state given the contributions that we’ve made, not only to the economy of this country, but also to the economy of the state, because of the receipts we have gotten from federal allocation, inclusive of a 13% derivation and other resources that come to the state by way of IGR. By our own reckoning, since the Okowa administration came into being Delta State has received close to about 4.2 trillion naira.
“And this came like I said, by way of federal allocation, it came by way of13% derivation, and also about 400 billion naira that the state has borrowed.
“Only recently, thanks to my brother, the governor of Rivers state, who also made us to understand that another 260 billion naira was given to our state (on account of shortfall payment). So if you look at that, that will be a total of 4.2 trillion Naira that has come to the state.
“There’s nothing on ground by way of infrastructural development that is commensurate with all of these receipts that come to the state.
“The people are in despair. We have civil servants who gave the best part of their years in the service of the state and upon retirement, are still being owed gratuities, for the most part pensions. Some owed 6, 7, 8 and 9 years and they have not been paid, for a state that is that rich? We have as you all know, the minimum wage which has been approved for the entire country.
“In Delta State not withstanding our receipts Delta is one of the very few states that is not paying minimum wage, when you have states even up North that receive close to about a quarter, in most cases even less of the allocations coming to Delta state paying minimum wage.
“The health sector is in a state of decay, same to the educational sector. Before Okowa became governor we had tuition and other fees in Delta State tertiary institutions going for about 17,000 Naira per year, but today, right now is close about 470,000 Naira per student. Now, these are children of Deltans, who have not been paid the minimum wage.
“These are children of retirees who have not being paid their pensions, but yet are supposed to fuck up some money, additional increases to pay this tuition for their children.
“So the state is in serious despair. People are very very angry and they are in a hurry to kick out this government. And on top of that, there’s also this issue of equity. People are very, are very gentle. We are we are very gentle people, our word is our bond in Delta State. We are equitable, we fight for equity for all.
“It is the position of Deltans and most especially, indeed or the entire Southern Nigeria, that given the fact that we have supported Mr. President, Muhammadu Buhari, President for the past eight years, it’s only fair, just and equitable that the next President should come from Southern Nigeria.
“And it may also interest you that Okowa as the Chairman of the Governors Forum in South South was one of those who led this charge, and met in Asaba, where the case was made, and the position was taken, and a communique was signed to the effect that at the expiration of the tenure of Mr. President from Northern Nigeria, the next President must come from the South.
“That position of the Governors was equally supported by Mr. President himself, Muhammadu Buhari. The President supported the same position. And then we’re also lucky to have had the support of the governors of Northern Nigeria most especially of the APC’s extraction, I believe about 16 or 17 of them all came together and approved the same position taken by the Governors of Southern Nigeria.
“So to the chagrin and disappoinment of many at home, Okowa has betrayed that course by selling away our right to the Presidency, and instead going for a meager Office of a Vice President at a time when the entire country is offering us the Presidency. So our people are not taking this treachery kindly and determined that they will punish Okowa.
“So our prospects have been very bright in addition to what we offer, we want to change the narrative in the state. We have our own agenda, a planning manifesto we Christianed the agenda. In the agenda we’re taking a look at the challenges facing the state.
“Most importantly, the issue of unemployment. We had children that have graduated from school, some 6, 7, 8, 9 years without employment opportunities, despite the money that come to the state. So we’ve decided to focus on job creation for our people inclusive of empowerment of people by way of employment, and then also trying to create opportunities for our women and children by empowering them to set up their own businesses to keep their families together.
“Like I said, the same manifesto also addresses the issue of infrastructural decay. If you go to Delta State today, there is no road, no single road that is a new road that was constructed by Okowa as a governor.
“The last set of roads that we have in Delta State were constructed by a Governor Ibori. Since that time not a single new road, either by Governor Uduagan or by Governor Okowa. All he’s been doing is doing patches using mushroom companies to do patches, or remedial work on some of these roads which after three, four months, they get washed away by by the rains.
“So, we were determined to arrest this infrastructural decay by making this a priority in the next government, which were provided for in our manifesto. But most importantly, the issue of enduring peace and security which is another plan and the manifesto is what we intend to focus on. Because at the end of the day for us to be able to have all of the jobs created to have companies that have left the state, come back to the state to set up and help create employment opportunities for our people, we need to create an enduring peaceful environment for them.
“We have states that invested so much in security, I don’t want to mention names, you know, there were some states that have taken security as a priority, did the requisite investments and those efforts are yielding results.
“So we intend to do the same putting the requisite investments so that those companies that have left can come back and help us to create employment”.
