There were mind-blowing hopes of a new dawn across the length and breadth of Delta State when Governor Ifeanyi Okowa on May 29, took the oath of office, with a resounding promise of turning around the misfortunes of the oil-rich state for the good of every resident. In Okowa’s maiden speech to the people of the state, he pledged that his administration would hit the ground running immediately to achieve his five-point SMART agenda of making all Deltans prosperous.
However, after 100 days of overseeing the affairs of the state, the average Deltan has been reduced to howling in pains and agony. While it’s unarguably true that Delta is a difficult state to govern because of its ethnic diversity, one does not need to pull the stars before they are pleased. Deltans appreciate little things.
This is why former Governor James Ibori, now languishing in a London prison, is still celebrated by majority of Deltans, irrespective of what Nigeria and the international community hold against him. Political pundits in the state believe that Ibori had laid the foundation for subsequent governments to build on.
Indeed, the expectations of the people of the state were high owing to the abysmal performance of the previous administration. Okowa’s victory at the poll is still being contested at the state Election Petition Tribunal by two gubernatorial candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Labour Party, LP, Olorogun O’Tega Emerhor and Chief Great Ogboru respectively. Unlike former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s threepoint agenda which is ‘recitable’ even by primary school pupil, SMART is believed to be ambiguous to understand.
Despite that Okowa ‘prosperity for all Deltans’ mantra has become a household name within the state, not many know what SMART means. National Mirror’s findings in course of this report revealed that not even his aides know the full meaning. But the government claimed SMART is Strategic wealth creation initiatives and provision of jobs for all; Meaningful peace building platforms aimed at political/ social stability; Agricultural reforms and industrialisation; Relevant health and education policies and Transformed environment through massive urban renewal.
In face of the dwindling revenue, Okowa’s first public outing after he was sworn in as governor was to address members of the state House of Assembly, where he told bewildered Deltans that his administration inherited a debt profile of N637 billion. He had, at the sitting before the close of the fifth Assembly, told Deltans to be ready to make necessary sacrifices to put the state on the path of economic recovery.
The revelation by Okowa did not however go without controversies. While Deltans have shown readiness to make sacrifices, the onus is now government to lead by example, but actions of the Okowa-led administration does not portray what it says, especially in its recent appointment spree. It was on this basis of this that the Executive Director, Centre for the Vulnerable and Underprivileged, CENTREP, Mr. Oghenejabor Ikimi, said his rating of the present administration is low and that of business as usual.
A furious Ikimi said: “My score card of Governor Okowa is low as it had been a 100 days of business as usual. To put it succinctly Governor Okowa’s 100 days in office has been 100 days of commotion in the governance of the state, reminiscent of the television drama series, Fuji House of Commotion.”
National Mirror checks showed that the Okowa led-administration has appointed roughly 250 persons into various positions, thus putting a question mark of his much touted economy recovery efforts. Ikimi said: “The 97-man transition committee set up by Governor Okowa in its report amongst other things had put the number of civil commissioners in the erstwhile Uduaghan administration at 33, while his special advisers and political aides were put at 165.
“However within 100 days in office, Okowa has appointed first batch of 12 commissioners and over 100 political aides, either as special advisers, special assistants, project directors and personal aides, including a 30-man advisory and peace committee headed by Professor Sam Oyovwaire, a former Minister of Information.” He said a common feature of the appointments made so far by Okowa is duplicity of job description and functions, and the dissipation of public funds.
For instance, Okowa has a Chief Press Secretary, a Communications Manager, four Press Secretaries for electronic media, social media, print media and community newspaper which he said are doing same job of image laundering for the governor; with many other media aides yet to be assigned portfolios.
More disturbing is the manner some former federal appointees scrabble for political appointments from Okowa after the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan debacle at the centre. Ikimi wondered: “While the state is saddled with a debt burden of N647 billion or more, one is therefore at a loss as to what informed these bogus appointments. Are these appointments the necessary sacrifices the citizens of the state need to make to put our state on the path of economic recovery?
Are the bogus appointments indices to the economic recovery Governor Okowa talked about while addressing members of the state House of Assembly?”
In his assessment of Okowa’s 100 days, environmental rights activist, Comrade Sheriff Mulade, also said the various appointments so far made by Okowa lacked clear cut policies enunciation, adding that the SMART agenda was mere political jingle like the now forgotten Delta Beyond Oil by Uduaghan. Mulade, the chairman of Kokodiagbene, an oil-rich community in Warri South West of the state added: “I have not seen anything he has done. Although 100 days are not enough to assess the direction of the government, however the few appointments and policies he has introduced have shown that there is nothing special about his government.
“Over 50 per cent of the appointments are disappointment to Deltans because these are people who in their previous offices failed woefully. So it was surprising to see the same crop of people being appointed as commissioners and special aides. We believe that if he continues like this, his government may not achieve much because of the sycophants he has surrounded himself with.”
But in his defence of Okowa, the state’s Technical and Vocational Education Board executive secretary, Michael Akpobire, pointed out that in 100 days the government is executing massive upgrade of three technical colleges to train middle manpower for industrial revolution.
He said that Okowa has laid a solid foundation for the actualisation of his SMART agenda, noting that the first batch of 1,345 entrepreneurs are currently being trained in different skills that would propel them for job creation in the state in line with the governor’s dream.
He added: “Asaba Capital Development Authority has been successfully put in place to ensure that floods in Asaba and other critical infrastructure in the capital territory are handled. The technical and vocational education board has been put in place. The health insurance bill is receiving serious attention and all of these and more in 100 days.” Another critical controversial issue in the state is the plot by Okowa to scrap Government House Annex in Warri. Residents of the oil city of Warri have described the move as a deliberate effort to abandon the commercial nerve centre of the state.
Although, the governor has refuted this allegation, the office has remained none functional as he has never held any public function or meeting there since assuming office. This has further given credence to the allegation that a Delta North man-led government in the state would neglect the other two senatorial districts.
Furthermore, the N6 billion moribund Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, project in Effurun/Warri is yet to receive attention from the governor despite the uproar and dissatisfaction that have greeted the project, which has become a nightmare to road users and residents of the city. Apart from defacing the entrance to the city, the BRT project also contributes 90 per cent of the gridlock experienced on daily basis.
The general bad state of roads in Delta has not received any attention either from Okowa’s administration. One hardly drives a kilometre in any part of the state without potholes. Many of the completed road projects in the state were poorly done by politician-contractors.
Over 120 students undergoing training in Trinidad and Barbados, as well as beneficiaries of former Governor Uduaghan’s controversial Delta State Youth Empowerment Programme, YEP, were also returned to the country without completing their programmes within Okowa’s 100 days. The new government in the state claimed that it is not interested in shouldering the burden of the scandal-ridden programme and is therefore returning them to continue the programme.
The new Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr Chiedu Ebie, noted that instead of allowing the students to remain stranded, the state has agreed to airlift them back home to continue their training owing to the economy situation of the state. Gale of protests has also trailed the amendment of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, Act.
Itsekiri woman leader and activist, Chief Rita Lori Ogbebor has threatened to institute legal battle against the governor if the new amendments are not repealed. Ikimi while condemning the new DESOPADEC Act said: “The bill amending DESOPADEC Act merely restructured the commission like the NDDC. However, the problem with the commission was far from that of mere restructuring, as it was plagued with undue political interference, a vice that has turned the commission into a cesspool of corruption.
“Rather than insulate the commission from politics by appointing seasoned technocrats to man it so that the developmental needs of host communities can be met, Governor Okowa resorted to appointing his party members as DESOPADEC board members, leaving the issue of political interference unresolved.
“Thus, DESOPADEC activities remained business as usual while its accounts have also remained unaudited from inception. Is this what Governor Okowa meant by zero tolerance for corruption in the state?” Another seemingly interesting controversy that also threw the present government to the mud was the suspension of the 2014/2015 civil service recruitment exercises in the state. The recruitment conducted at the twilight of Uduaghan administration was alleged to have been marred by irregularities.
Several young men and women who resigned their various jobs to join the civil service were disengaged following the suspension. While justifying his action, Okowa explained that the exercise “violated established rules and regulations in the civil service. It was not logical that a state struggling to meet its payroll obligation should employ more persons.”
Okowa said Uduaghan administration “underscored the failure of the recruitment process when it suspended the chairman and members of the board of the state Civil Service Commission. In essence, if the process was faulty as they found out, the end result (the recruitment) could not have been otherwise.” Describing the suspension order as “painful and agonising” for him, Okowa pleaded with House members to “explain to their constituents who were affected by the suspension order to be patient and understand that we do not mean them any harm. We just want to ensure that the right thing is done.”
Although, the governor has been able to meet the wage bill through allocation and borrowing, Deltans are yearning to see dead and ailing industries given urgent attention to create wealth. Deltans are interested in good and motorable intra and inter cities roads. While Deltans continue to wait for the actualisation of Okowa’s mantra of “Prosperity for all Deltans”, the government said in face of these challenges, it is undaunted in meeting the yearning of the people. It’ll be good news to see in the days ahead that the state government lived up to her billings.
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