On-okowas-deceptive-vision-for-warri-and-environs
September 7, 2020 | News
ON OKOWA’S DECEPTIVE VISION FOR WARRI AND ENVIRONS
With regards to Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa-led Delta State Government’s so-called vision for the urbanization and social reconstruction of Warri and environs, which was reiterated recently by Norbert Chiazor, the Special Assistant to Governor Okowa on Media, we consider it as another reawakening of a media propaganda by the Okowa-led administration to give the false impression to the Nigerian public and the International Community, that they are working. Whereas, when it comes to the reality on ground, as regard the development of the Oil City of Warri and environs; what we see in the Okowa-led Delta State Government is one that is completely visionless, biased, deceptive and clearly do not have what it takes to redeem the lost glory of the Commercial nerve center of the State. So, we are not deceived by their recent media gimmicks, and we also ask that Deltans and Nigerians in the State, should not be deceived as well.
For a Government that came in since 2015 (almost five years today), and still has about three years to go, if all things being equal; the Governor Okowa-led PDP Government, should consider it disgraceful, an embarrassment of high proportion on their part, and a total disservice to the people of the State – that an all-important city like Warri and its environs, would today still be regarded as a total slum, a disorganized, disjointed, and disorderly city replete with deteriorating and non-existing basic infrastructure. The Okowa-led Delta State Government should consider it shameful, and the height of dereliction of duty as public office holders, that they are there in Government while the Commercial nerve center of the State, is nothing to write home about. If it were to be in other developed societies where public office holders are known for their integrity and patriotism, by now such a Government like Okowa, with a deplorable status of a city like Warri, would honourable quite office for not being able to address the many problems of such a city within its jurisdiction. But here, we see Government Officials live in affluence and enjoying the specks and fringe benefits of the public Offices they occupy, yet all around them are pictures of poverty, slum, underdevelopment, sufferings, and sub-human living conditions.
So, all that talk and media propaganda by the Okowa-led Government about having a so-called vision to transform the Oil city of Warri and its environs, are a complete nonsense, which Deltans and Nigerians in the State should not give any attention to. The only truth is what was said by Okowa’s media man, was his description of Warri, that: “No city can be as iconic as Warri, the famous oil city of Delta State. Located in the Niger Delta, it is the fourth largest wetland in the world. Warri has stood for ages as a melting pot of economic bubble and social revelry, dating back to the 14th century. With a large deposit of petroleum resources, Warri axis is the soul of Nigeria and the nerve centre of Africa’s biggest economy. It is also the cradle of comedy and entertainment. But even with its glorious essence, Warri bears a tearful image. One of Nigeria’s most important cities had, over the years, been raped terribly by man and nature. Imperial and neocolonial conflicts had thrown the city in the throes of degeneration but the Warri ethnic crisis of 1997 – 2004 would serve as the final death knell…But the wounds inflicted on Warri by the erstwhile military misadventure exacerbated by youth insurgency had gone so bad manifesting in total shut down of the famed city as multinational oil companies, subsidiaries and local businesses relocated or collapsed. This left Warri in desolate gloom. Till date, a metaphor of decay.” But mind you, on the Warri crises, it was former Governor and ex-convict James Ibori who promoted youth restiveness and violence, and projected miscreants as heroes who were openly recognized and rewarded for their unworthy paths. This has continued under the Okowa administration till date. And we all know that Okowa is a product of Ibori, as such, that practice of promoting and encouraging youth violence still persists till today. And presently, the well-known violent youths, most of whom make their ill-gotten wealth through illegal bunkering/illegal refinery and pipeline vandalization, are considered as friends of the Okowa-led Government up till this moment. Obviously, the Governor learnt from his grandmaster – Ibori.
Where we also do not agree with, is all that talk that: “The coming of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and his measured steps towards Warri promises a renaissance… Okowa’s willingness to give Warri respite is best exemplified by the establishment of Warri-Uvwie Area and Environs Development Agency (WUEDA).” We had noted when the bill for the creation of the said WUEDA was signed around April 2019, which according to Okowa, is premised on the need to pay special attention to the development of Warri, Uvwie and environs; that the question is, does the Delta State Government need to establish a special agency before Warri/Uvwie and environs can be developed? What we desperately need in Warri and environs, and across all Delta State, is holistic development, and not the creation of agencies that would only serve as “jobs for the Government’s loyalists”, and also another avenue for wasting/mismanaging of public funds. What is the essence of creating agencies that will only serve the interests of some selected supporters of the PDP-led Delta State Government? This was the same way we were flabbergasted and greatly appalled when in 2016, the Okowa-led set up a supposed Delta State Investment Development Agency, which till today we really do not know what that agency has done. And so it is with many others of such agencies of the Okowa-led administration, which are nothing but conduit pipes for the pilfering and misappropriation of public funds.
And true to what we had said, it is almost a year since the signing of the said bill for the creation that agency, yet the Commercial city of Warri is today regarded as one the most ‘dirty’ and ‘disorderly’ cities in the country, with countless abandoned projects and no standard airport. So, who is Governor Okowa deceiving/misleading with all that talk about having a vision for Warri? How can Governor Okowa be talking about a vision for Warri, when the same Okowa had abandoned most of the projects left behind by his predecessor? Even some of the ones he eventually started executing, like the Effurun/Warri/Sapele Expressway to Enerhen junction and the Ughelli/Isoko-Asaba Dual Expressway, are being poorly done, haphazardly executed and at a very disturbing snail-pace, which stakeholders have noted as a ‘delay tactics’ by the Contractors engaged as fronts, to continue creating room for more funds to be pumped into such projects unending. Where is the abandoned Multi-billion Naira Warri Industrial Park at Edjeba, Warri Delta State, which N9 billion has already been reportedly expended on it. What happened to the proposed runway expansion and upgrade of the Osubi-Warri Airstrip project? Will mere wishful thinking and pretentious political statements bring Warri back to its former glory? Why can’t the Okowa-led Delta State Government partner with the Federal Government and other interested Stakeholders to bring the Warri Port Complex back to life and make it functional again, execute the expansion of the Osubi Airstip to a Standard Airport that can accommodate in Ughelli South bigger aircrafts, build the old Okwagbe Wharf to become a Deep Sea Port, and other vital projects in and around Warri?
Governor Okowa clearly has no vision for Warri. For anybody familiar with the oil city, its most visible problem is bad roads. A very poor road network that makes one question if the present-day Warri is the same as the one that Shell Development Company (SPDC) and other oil companies sojourned before their abrupt exit in the aftermath of militancy and the irritable Deve culture by Community youths, which is still in practice despite a law by the administration to stop it. As noted by stakeholders, no government can overcome the road debacle in Warri without first solving the problem of flooding, which has shut in the oil city, as a result of the reckless approval of illegal structures on natural waterways, and the gross lack of well-engineered waste management processes.
All the roads in Warri, Ekpan ,Ugboroke layout, Effurun, Udu, Egini, Orhuwhorun, Ujevbu, Ovwian, Iwhrekan and Otu-Jeremi are in terrible states. Late last year, it was reported that journalists in Warri under the auspices of Warri Correspondents Chapel (WCC), Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Delta State Council, observed that “Many of the roads within Warri and Effurun are begging for government’s immediate attention, as most of the roads are bad and not passable with huge potholes and gullies dotting them. Such deplorable roads include: 1st Marine Gate and 3rd Marine Gate leading to Gbiaye Street, popular Enerhen Junction, Effurun Market, Apala Road, Mcaiver Roundabout, Oilfield road, Uti road, NNPC Housing Complex Road and PTI Road by Masoje Junction,” they said in a communiqué jointly signed by the chair and secretary, Okies Veeky and Joe Ogbodu. Other deplorable roads mentioned were Jakpa Junction, Ogbemudia Road by Igbudu Market, Bazunu road by College of Commerce gate, Warri, NPA Expressway, especially by Ugbuwangue Junction and Etuwewe road by Deco Road. …Warri-Benin, Warri-Agbor Federal roads are still appalling. The Congress went on: “Most worrisome also is the deplorable state of the Warri- Benin Expressway by Adeje and Opuraja as well as Warri to Agbor being designated as Federal roads. These so-called federal roads connecting several states in South- South and South East states have assumed the ignoble status of death traps with alarming tragedies across the oil and gas producing states,” it said.
It also stated that: “Besides, most nooks and crannies of Warri, Effurun and environs have become a displeasing enclave of filth as indiscriminate refuse dumps by residents have taken over various parts of the metropolis, blurring the aesthetic value of the oil-rich area and putting the people at the risk of imminent epidemics and other health challenges.” The Chapel equally expressed displeasure at the perennial darkness pervading most streets in Warri and Effurun as most streetlights installed by the past Emmanuel Uduaghan administration have gone bad and need urgent attention, noting: “The situation has gradually ushered in criminality, especially at dusk, as hoodlums now take the advantage to waylay and dispossess people of their possessions. More worrisome emanating from the darkness is the ignoble extermination of nightlife in Warri and environs as residents, for fear of rampaging hoodlums, now take hurried cover as soon as dusk approaches. It added, “Warri and Effurun are shamefully bedeviled with deplorable roads and blocked drainage resulting in perennial flooding year-in, year-out in Warri and environs.” Regardless of the fact that the Okowa-led government has reportedly awarded contract for the construction of underground drainage to mitigate the perennial floods in Warri and Uvwie axis, the government still has a lot to do as regards structures on waterways, and also address the snail-pace in the expansion of the Effurun-Sapele road linking Enerhen to alleviate the suffering of the people.
To remind us of how shameless and inept is the present Okowa-led Government in managing the affairs of the State, let us consider this; while the Okowa-led Government is busy with their noisemaking, cluelessness, and media propagandas primarily aimed to deceive the public that they are working, its counterparts in some States like Ondo and Ebonyi (whose revenue incomes as States, are not up to what enters Delta State Government coffers), are busy making history, creating giant development strides in ‘reality’. While, the Okowa-led Delta State Government is yearly busy building substandard political projects, driving in needless long convoys, wasting public funds through their lifestyles, and undertaking endless ‘groundbreaking projects’ that are usually never completed; other Governors are quietly changing and positively impacting the lives of many Nigerians in regions.
Just recently, President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned (not groundbreaking) the Industrial Park in Ore, Ondo State. And as noted by stakeholders, the said industrial park was not only remarkable, but also unbelievable, considering the fact that such feat has never been attained by any of the States in the South-South which receives more federal allocation and revenue than other States across the country. In the words of a public affairs commentator, Ata Ikiddeh, he wondered (like me), “How in the world did Ondo State pull this off. Ondo State is one of the least affluent States in Nigeria!? How is it possible that a State that receives an average of N5b a month just built an industrial city and Mr. President just commissioned the mammoth project!? Meanwhile States that receive N15 to N20 billion are struggling to finish road projects. According to reports, the said Industrial City has a Paper Mill Factory, Plywood Factory, Textile Company, The largest Cassava Ethanol Factory in Nigeria, Automobile Assembly Plant and Nigeria’s first Medium-density Fibreboard (MDF) Factory that produces high-density fibre and marine boards. Without a doubt, this will open a lot of job opportunities in not only Ondo State, but those from neighboring States as well as who would obviously flood Ondo State.
Then in Ebonyi State, Governor David Nweze Umehi, who is also the Chairman of the South-East Governors Forum since 2017, has practically transformed the State beyond one’s imagination. Among other things, Governor Umehi has redefined the concept of Agriculture in the State; the first governor to reintroduce road construction with concrete pavement of 8 Inches, which he did over 300km roads, first of its kind in Nigeria; built the biggest Communal center ever built by any government in Nigeria with a Main Hall of 5000 capacity, about 2000 capacity small hall, with modern lift escalators, offices and accommodation; built the longest and most aesthetic flyovers in the South East, with three number of such, having a total of 96 span built in three years, and has commenced another construction of eight flyovers in strategic junctions and major highways of the Three Senatorial Zones; the first governor to build a glass-bridged Channel with 16 spans, with aesthetic lights that shines in the night; built Street Lights that shines twelve hours daily, performing optimally at the State Capital, and also in each of the thirteen Local Government Areas; has the smoothest road networks in Nigeria; built the biggest rice mills in Nigeria, and the biggest rice milling clusters in Africa, with a total of 24 metric tones per hour for Government-owned rice mills, and over 1,500 milling clusters for cooperatives; built the biggest fertilizer company in the South East and South South; built the most amazing and sustainable fountains in the South East, seven in number, at strategic locations; procured land development equipment, V8 Bulldozers for land development and agricultural mechanization; secured approval to build a standard airport; the only governor in Nigeria that pays workers’ salaries 15 days to the end of the month, he is not owing a farthing; built the biggest mushroom farm in Nigeria; introduced one-man-one-hectare agricultural policy for public office holders, civil servants and farmers who are participating in the State Government agricultural program; constructing the biggest shopping mall that ever being built by any democratic-elected governor in Africa; has the highest employment profile in Nigeria; with the lowest insecurity profile and crime rate in Nigeria; has the neatest and most beautiful capital in Nigeria, and so many other things too numerous to mention.
The thing about the Ebonyi State example, is that everything stated are visible and verifiably seen as the realities on ground in the State, unlike what we have in Delta State where it is more of talk and more talks, with little or no results on ground. To me, the examples above should be a slap on the face of the Delta State Government, who are only good at building schools that will produce ‘unemployable graduates’ roaming the streets, looking for white collar jobs that are really not there, or sitting idle in government-created offices browsing websites and chatting with friends on WhatsApp, Facebook, Tweeter, Instagram, etc. Or is it their practice of employing thousands of youths every now and then as Senior Special Assistants (SSA), Personal Assistants (PAs), and other unimaginable portfolios that are without well-defined roles and job specifications.
Deltans, and Nigerians in the State should not be deceived one bit by the so-called Okowa’s vision for Warri and environs. All that is wishful thinking and political propaganda. Until the people start seeing the changes by themselves in ‘reality’, the Delta State Government under Okowa, has no right to go to the media to start painting pictures and saying things that are not there, and which they know very well they are not willing to do.
Zik Gbemre.
March 19, 2020.
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes
With regards to Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa-led Delta State Government’s so-called vision for the urbanization and social reconstruction of Warri and environs, which was reiterated recently by Norbert Chiazor, the Special Assistant to Governor Okowa on Media, we consider it as another reawakening of a media propaganda by the Okowa-led administration to give the false impression to the Nigerian public and the International Community, that they are working. Whereas, when it comes to the reality on ground, as regard the development of the Oil City of Warri and environs; what we see in the Okowa-led Delta State Government is one that is completely visionless, biased, deceptive and clearly do not have what it takes to redeem the lost glory of the Commercial nerve center of the State. So, we are not deceived by their recent media gimmicks, and we also ask that Deltans and Nigerians in the State, should not be deceived as well.
For a Government that came in since 2015 (almost five years today), and still has about three years to go, if all things being equal; the Governor Okowa-led PDP Government, should consider it disgraceful, an embarrassment of high proportion on their part, and a total disservice to the people of the State – that an all-important city like Warri and its environs, would today still be regarded as a total slum, a disorganized, disjointed, and disorderly city replete with deteriorating and non-existing basic infrastructure. The Okowa-led Delta State Government should consider it shameful, and the height of dereliction of duty as public office holders, that they are there in Government while the Commercial nerve center of the State, is nothing to write home about. If it were to be in other developed societies where public office holders are known for their integrity and patriotism, by now such a Government like Okowa, with a deplorable status of a city like Warri, would honourable quite office for not being able to address the many problems of such a city within its jurisdiction. But here, we see Government Officials live in affluence and enjoying the specks and fringe benefits of the public Offices they occupy, yet all around them are pictures of poverty, slum, underdevelopment, sufferings, and sub-human living conditions.
So, all that talk and media propaganda by the Okowa-led Government about having a so-called vision to transform the Oil city of Warri and its environs, are a complete nonsense, which Deltans and Nigerians in the State should not give any attention to. The only truth is what was said by Okowa’s media man, was his description of Warri, that: “No city can be as iconic as Warri, the famous oil city of Delta State. Located in the Niger Delta, it is the fourth largest wetland in the world. Warri has stood for ages as a melting pot of economic bubble and social revelry, dating back to the 14th century. With a large deposit of petroleum resources, Warri axis is the soul of Nigeria and the nerve centre of Africa’s biggest economy. It is also the cradle of comedy and entertainment. But even with its glorious essence, Warri bears a tearful image. One of Nigeria’s most important cities had, over the years, been raped terribly by man and nature. Imperial and neocolonial conflicts had thrown the city in the throes of degeneration but the Warri ethnic crisis of 1997 – 2004 would serve as the final death knell…But the wounds inflicted on Warri by the erstwhile military misadventure exacerbated by youth insurgency had gone so bad manifesting in total shut down of the famed city as multinational oil companies, subsidiaries and local businesses relocated or collapsed. This left Warri in desolate gloom. Till date, a metaphor of decay.” But mind you, on the Warri crises, it was former Governor and ex-convict James Ibori who promoted youth restiveness and violence, and projected miscreants as heroes who were openly recognized and rewarded for their unworthy paths. This has continued under the Okowa administration till date. And we all know that Okowa is a product of Ibori, as such, that practice of promoting and encouraging youth violence still persists till today. And presently, the well-known violent youths, most of whom make their ill-gotten wealth through illegal bunkering/illegal refinery and pipeline vandalization, are considered as friends of the Okowa-led Government up till this moment. Obviously, the Governor learnt from his grandmaster – Ibori.
Where we also do not agree with, is all that talk that: “The coming of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and his measured steps towards Warri promises a renaissance… Okowa’s willingness to give Warri respite is best exemplified by the establishment of Warri-Uvwie Area and Environs Development Agency (WUEDA).” We had noted when the bill for the creation of the said WUEDA was signed around April 2019, which according to Okowa, is premised on the need to pay special attention to the development of Warri, Uvwie and environs; that the question is, does the Delta State Government need to establish a special agency before Warri/Uvwie and environs can be developed? What we desperately need in Warri and environs, and across all Delta State, is holistic development, and not the creation of agencies that would only serve as “jobs for the Government’s loyalists”, and also another avenue for wasting/mismanaging of public funds. What is the essence of creating agencies that will only serve the interests of some selected supporters of the PDP-led Delta State Government? This was the same way we were flabbergasted and greatly appalled when in 2016, the Okowa-led set up a supposed Delta State Investment Development Agency, which till today we really do not know what that agency has done. And so it is with many others of such agencies of the Okowa-led administration, which are nothing but conduit pipes for the pilfering and misappropriation of public funds.
And true to what we had said, it is almost a year since the signing of the said bill for the creation that agency, yet the Commercial city of Warri is today regarded as one the most ‘dirty’ and ‘disorderly’ cities in the country, with countless abandoned projects and no standard airport. So, who is Governor Okowa deceiving/misleading with all that talk about having a vision for Warri? How can Governor Okowa be talking about a vision for Warri, when the same Okowa had abandoned most of the projects left behind by his predecessor? Even some of the ones he eventually started executing, like the Effurun/Warri/Sapele Expressway to Enerhen junction and the Ughelli/Isoko-Asaba Dual Expressway, are being poorly done, haphazardly executed and at a very disturbing snail-pace, which stakeholders have noted as a ‘delay tactics’ by the Contractors engaged as fronts, to continue creating room for more funds to be pumped into such projects unending. Where is the abandoned Multi-billion Naira Warri Industrial Park at Edjeba, Warri Delta State, which N9 billion has already been reportedly expended on it. What happened to the proposed runway expansion and upgrade of the Osubi-Warri Airstrip project? Will mere wishful thinking and pretentious political statements bring Warri back to its former glory? Why can’t the Okowa-led Delta State Government partner with the Federal Government and other interested Stakeholders to bring the Warri Port Complex back to life and make it functional again, execute the expansion of the Osubi Airstip to a Standard Airport that can accommodate in Ughelli South bigger aircrafts, build the old Okwagbe Wharf to become a Deep Sea Port, and other vital projects in and around Warri?
Governor Okowa clearly has no vision for Warri. For anybody familiar with the oil city, its most visible problem is bad roads. A very poor road network that makes one question if the present-day Warri is the same as the one that Shell Development Company (SPDC) and other oil companies sojourned before their abrupt exit in the aftermath of militancy and the irritable Deve culture by Community youths, which is still in practice despite a law by the administration to stop it. As noted by stakeholders, no government can overcome the road debacle in Warri without first solving the problem of flooding, which has shut in the oil city, as a result of the reckless approval of illegal structures on natural waterways, and the gross lack of well-engineered waste management processes.
All the roads in Warri, Ekpan ,Ugboroke layout, Effurun, Udu, Egini, Orhuwhorun, Ujevbu, Ovwian, Iwhrekan and Otu-Jeremi are in terrible states. Late last year, it was reported that journalists in Warri under the auspices of Warri Correspondents Chapel (WCC), Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Delta State Council, observed that “Many of the roads within Warri and Effurun are begging for government’s immediate attention, as most of the roads are bad and not passable with huge potholes and gullies dotting them. Such deplorable roads include: 1st Marine Gate and 3rd Marine Gate leading to Gbiaye Street, popular Enerhen Junction, Effurun Market, Apala Road, Mcaiver Roundabout, Oilfield road, Uti road, NNPC Housing Complex Road and PTI Road by Masoje Junction,” they said in a communiqué jointly signed by the chair and secretary, Okies Veeky and Joe Ogbodu. Other deplorable roads mentioned were Jakpa Junction, Ogbemudia Road by Igbudu Market, Bazunu road by College of Commerce gate, Warri, NPA Expressway, especially by Ugbuwangue Junction and Etuwewe road by Deco Road. …Warri-Benin, Warri-Agbor Federal roads are still appalling. The Congress went on: “Most worrisome also is the deplorable state of the Warri- Benin Expressway by Adeje and Opuraja as well as Warri to Agbor being designated as Federal roads. These so-called federal roads connecting several states in South- South and South East states have assumed the ignoble status of death traps with alarming tragedies across the oil and gas producing states,” it said.
It also stated that: “Besides, most nooks and crannies of Warri, Effurun and environs have become a displeasing enclave of filth as indiscriminate refuse dumps by residents have taken over various parts of the metropolis, blurring the aesthetic value of the oil-rich area and putting the people at the risk of imminent epidemics and other health challenges.” The Chapel equally expressed displeasure at the perennial darkness pervading most streets in Warri and Effurun as most streetlights installed by the past Emmanuel Uduaghan administration have gone bad and need urgent attention, noting: “The situation has gradually ushered in criminality, especially at dusk, as hoodlums now take the advantage to waylay and dispossess people of their possessions. More worrisome emanating from the darkness is the ignoble extermination of nightlife in Warri and environs as residents, for fear of rampaging hoodlums, now take hurried cover as soon as dusk approaches. It added, “Warri and Effurun are shamefully bedeviled with deplorable roads and blocked drainage resulting in perennial flooding year-in, year-out in Warri and environs.” Regardless of the fact that the Okowa-led government has reportedly awarded contract for the construction of underground drainage to mitigate the perennial floods in Warri and Uvwie axis, the government still has a lot to do as regards structures on waterways, and also address the snail-pace in the expansion of the Effurun-Sapele road linking Enerhen to alleviate the suffering of the people.
To remind us of how shameless and inept is the present Okowa-led Government in managing the affairs of the State, let us consider this; while the Okowa-led Government is busy with their noisemaking, cluelessness, and media propagandas primarily aimed to deceive the public that they are working, its counterparts in some States like Ondo and Ebonyi (whose revenue incomes as States, are not up to what enters Delta State Government coffers), are busy making history, creating giant development strides in ‘reality’. While, the Okowa-led Delta State Government is yearly busy building substandard political projects, driving in needless long convoys, wasting public funds through their lifestyles, and undertaking endless ‘groundbreaking projects’ that are usually never completed; other Governors are quietly changing and positively impacting the lives of many Nigerians in regions.
Just recently, President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned (not groundbreaking) the Industrial Park in Ore, Ondo State. And as noted by stakeholders, the said industrial park was not only remarkable, but also unbelievable, considering the fact that such feat has never been attained by any of the States in the South-South which receives more federal allocation and revenue than other States across the country. In the words of a public affairs commentator, Ata Ikiddeh, he wondered (like me), “How in the world did Ondo State pull this off. Ondo State is one of the least affluent States in Nigeria!? How is it possible that a State that receives an average of N5b a month just built an industrial city and Mr. President just commissioned the mammoth project!? Meanwhile States that receive N15 to N20 billion are struggling to finish road projects. According to reports, the said Industrial City has a Paper Mill Factory, Plywood Factory, Textile Company, The largest Cassava Ethanol Factory in Nigeria, Automobile Assembly Plant and Nigeria’s first Medium-density Fibreboard (MDF) Factory that produces high-density fibre and marine boards. Without a doubt, this will open a lot of job opportunities in not only Ondo State, but those from neighboring States as well as who would obviously flood Ondo State.
Then in Ebonyi State, Governor David Nweze Umehi, who is also the Chairman of the South-East Governors Forum since 2017, has practically transformed the State beyond one’s imagination. Among other things, Governor Umehi has redefined the concept of Agriculture in the State; the first governor to reintroduce road construction with concrete pavement of 8 Inches, which he did over 300km roads, first of its kind in Nigeria; built the biggest Communal center ever built by any government in Nigeria with a Main Hall of 5000 capacity, about 2000 capacity small hall, with modern lift escalators, offices and accommodation; built the longest and most aesthetic flyovers in the South East, with three number of such, having a total of 96 span built in three years, and has commenced another construction of eight flyovers in strategic junctions and major highways of the Three Senatorial Zones; the first governor to build a glass-bridged Channel with 16 spans, with aesthetic lights that shines in the night; built Street Lights that shines twelve hours daily, performing optimally at the State Capital, and also in each of the thirteen Local Government Areas; has the smoothest road networks in Nigeria; built the biggest rice mills in Nigeria, and the biggest rice milling clusters in Africa, with a total of 24 metric tones per hour for Government-owned rice mills, and over 1,500 milling clusters for cooperatives; built the biggest fertilizer company in the South East and South South; built the most amazing and sustainable fountains in the South East, seven in number, at strategic locations; procured land development equipment, V8 Bulldozers for land development and agricultural mechanization; secured approval to build a standard airport; the only governor in Nigeria that pays workers’ salaries 15 days to the end of the month, he is not owing a farthing; built the biggest mushroom farm in Nigeria; introduced one-man-one-hectare agricultural policy for public office holders, civil servants and farmers who are participating in the State Government agricultural program; constructing the biggest shopping mall that ever being built by any democratic-elected governor in Africa; has the highest employment profile in Nigeria; with the lowest insecurity profile and crime rate in Nigeria; has the neatest and most beautiful capital in Nigeria, and so many other things too numerous to mention.
The thing about the Ebonyi State example, is that everything stated are visible and verifiably seen as the realities on ground in the State, unlike what we have in Delta State where it is more of talk and more talks, with little or no results on ground. To me, the examples above should be a slap on the face of the Delta State Government, who are only good at building schools that will produce ‘unemployable graduates’ roaming the streets, looking for white collar jobs that are really not there, or sitting idle in government-created offices browsing websites and chatting with friends on WhatsApp, Facebook, Tweeter, Instagram, etc. Or is it their practice of employing thousands of youths every now and then as Senior Special Assistants (SSA), Personal Assistants (PAs), and other unimaginable portfolios that are without well-defined roles and job specifications.
Deltans, and Nigerians in the State should not be deceived one bit by the so-called Okowa’s vision for Warri and environs. All that is wishful thinking and political propaganda. Until the people start seeing the changes by themselves in ‘reality’, the Delta State Government under Okowa, has no right to go to the media to start painting pictures and saying things that are not there, and which they know very well they are not willing to do.
Zik Gbemre.
March 19, 2020.
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes