Economists made us to understand that money is a relatively scarce commodity and one question that can easily come to mind is, what can government do without money?
A friend of mine, few days ago, was almost combative when he asked, “Fidelis, why is Delta State Government owing debts?” You could hear a pin drop when the people around waited for my answer.
It was a simple answer from me, “pal, why are you still looking for money beyond what you earn as salary? Why are you owing the cooperative society?” This is because, there are always new areas of interest and money is required for such ventures to go beyond the imagination stage. Imagine convincing the state governor of the need for his administration to construct the Ugiliamai/Ossissa Road or that there is an urgent need to construct Ugiliamai/Obikwele Road! If his administration requires borrowing money to be able to execute the projects, he will ensure that. Will he personally make use of the roads? Probably, no, but that is the area his Deputy, Sir Monday Onyeme, FCA, hails from, and most of the people who will make use of the roads are Deltans. Again, it will be on record that his administration was able to link Ossissa and Ugiliamai with a motorable road and it would be noted that he is the first governor to construct a motorable road to Obikwele.
While Ugiliamai is in Ndokwa West Local Government Area, Ossissa and Obikwele are in Ndokwa East Local Government Area.
As a Deltan, I can vividly recall that in 1999 when Chief James Onanefe Ibori was elected Governor of Delta State, he inherited a state in turmoil from the Military Administrator, Navy Commander Walter Feghabor (rtd). Then, there was a weekly Security Council Meeting at the Government House Annex, Warri.
We are also well aware of the fact that no meaningful development can take place in any place where there is crisis- check what is going on in Russia and Ukraine. So, if Governor James Ibori’s administration borrowed money to ensure that the destruction of lives and property was stopped in any part of Delta State, it was a great achievement , hence Chief Ibori was addressed as the “bridge builder.” Aside from building bridges of peace, his administration also constructed physical bridges, just as he made sure that my former Boss, Elder William Bozimo, for the first time as the Special Assistant, Media to the Governor, drove his official car, a Kia product, to Bomadi his home town through the bridge over River Raymos. In short, it was the bridge which was constructed by Governor James Ibori’s administration that made some people in Bomadi to see a motor car physically for the first time in their ancestral land.
Before the coming of Chief Ibori’s administration, no car could get to Bomadi. Also, through Ibori, cars and other motor vehicles were driven to the ancient town of Aboh without been ferried by a pontoon. Again, we cannot forget in haste that Ibori’s administration constructed the Ogbeogonogo, Ugbolokposo, Ughelli/Ogor ultra-modern markets.
So, if Chief Ibori’s administration incurred debts, he borrowed money to work for Deltans and he had the likes of Barr. Ovie Omo-Agege, Engr. Omeni Sobotie, Barr. Peter Nwaoboshi, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, Comrade Ovuozorie Macaulay, among numerous other Deltans playing key roles as members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who worked in his administration.
If Chief Ibori administration borrowed money to work for Deltans, it will not be wrong for the Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori’s administration to do so, even if such requires constructing a road from Illah, through Oko, Aboh to Patani and thus, in the long run, check the annual erosion that is eating up the coastal communities or even, construct housing estates by the bank of the River Niger in Asaba. One can again, imagine the scenic environment.
Former Governor Ibori handed over the mantle of leadership to Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan. If Dr. Uduaghan’s administration did not borrow money, it must have done much to pay what Ibori’s administration borrowed (but could not fully repay before exiting power/office) to work for Deltans but if he borrowed so much and succeeded in building a befitting Government House complex for Delta State, paid medical bills for pregnant and nursing mothers, gave scholarship to First Class graduates to travel to any country of their choice to study up to the Doctoral Degree level, made Asaba and Warri to get their first flyovers, constructed an international airport in Asaba, then, his administration deserved to have borrowed money to work for Deltans.
As a Medical Doctor, Uduaghan was passionate about the health of Deltans and he constructed the Delta State University Teaching Hospital (DELSUTH), Oghara, and, of course, the Specialist Hospital, Asaba. I can still remember the day that the operation that involved installing a pace maker was done at DELSUTH.
So, if Dr. Uduaghan’s administration did its best for Deltans, maintain peace and security and ensured that Deltans remained united, then, if anyone accuses his administration of borrowing money to work for Deltans, it meant that revenue from the Federal Government and those generated in the state were not enough; so, the Rt. Hon. Sheriff Administration deserves to borrow to provide job opportunities for Deltans, construct more roads and build more bridges. If the administration borrows money to check the erosion sites – the Igwogwo erosion site at Amachai, Okpanam, construct link roads there and save lives and structures in the area, the administration would be applauded.
Sen. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa took over governance of Delta State from Dr. Uduaghan at a time when the Niger Delta Avengers were threatening the corporate existence of Nigeria as a country. The daring militants bombed several federal infrastructures, including the trans-Forcados trunkline which made Nigeria’s oil revenue to dip so low that the country went into an economic recession.
Former Governor Okowa moved into the creeks and with his government’s intervention, peace was restored and Nigeria was not balkanised.
If Governor Okowa’s administration put the state in debt in order to ensure that Nigeria remained as a country, then, it was well deserved but his administration went ahead to construct legion roads as a result of which he earned the sobriquet, “The Road Master.”
Sen. Dr. Okowa’s administration can be remembered for constructing the flyover at Koka junction, thereby stopping the gridlock that lasts for hours at that portion of the Benin / Onitsha highway, and the establishment of three universities in one day, among others.
In all, from 1999 to date that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has held sway in the governance of Delta State, the state has fared considerably well compared to those that were created when it was carved out from former Bendel State.
Over the years, one may not know the administration that empowered Deltans the most – establishment of polytechnics at Ogwashi-Uku, Mosogar, and Ozoro; free medical care for pregnant and nursing mothers, scholarships for first class graduates, training of artisans and empowering them to set up their businesses and become employers of labour, recruitment of workers into the state workforce and ensuring that salaries are paid as and when due, insurance scheme to ensure that every Deltan has access to effective medical care, among others.
Certainly, no sane person would say that the state has not done well under the umbrella political party, the PDP. Some pundits have said, let us try another political party and I asked them, “what is the problem? Is it the platform or the individuals?” This is because, in Delta State, there is no politician of note who has not played key roles in the PDP.
Few days ago, I wrote a piece about the release of Certificate of Occupancy to the Federal Government for the Federal University of Medical and Health Sciences, Kwale, and my inbox was abuzz with messages on why I omitted Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege’s name as the one who influenced the siting of the University at Kwale. While the piece was not about the historical background of how the university came into being, it was wrong for someone to allege that I omitted his name because he is a key player in the All Progressives Congress, APC, the main opposition party in the state.
Senator Omo-Agege is a prominent Deltan who has served the state in different capacities and who said that Sen. Omo-Agege cannot return to the PDP? Omo-Agege cut his political teeth in the PDP and in some circles, he is still addressed as a member of the PDP. He has severally, contested elections on the platform of the PDP. Nigeria’s politics has not evolved to where there is clear division along political lines based on ideology as can be seen between the Democrats and Republicans in the United States of America. Chief James Ibori, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, Sen. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege and other political leaders in the state know where they meet as leaders in the collective interest of the state beyond party lines. We are first of all, Deltans before we talk about political parties; so, what matters is ensuring that our state is peaceful, progressive and above all, there is food on the table.
President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, was at a time, a member of Alliance for Democracy and who says that Barr. Nyesom Wike cannot lure him to recontest for the Presidency on the platform of the PDP based on the acceptability of the party in the country?
It is common knowledge that there is no community in Delta State that has not benefitted from the PDP either in terms of projects or empowerment of their indigenes. Without sounding immodest, more than 70 per cent of the roads tarred in the state were constructed by the PDP-led administrations in the state; so, while castigating Governor Oborevwori, people should bear in mind that he is not working as Governor of PDP but as Governor of Delta State.
So, if government is borrowing money to deliver on its mandate, it is the function of government to do so as far as the majority of the people are happy and the state is working.
Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori’s administration should not shy away from borrowing money if such is required to make the state better and it is lawful for his administration to do so.
It is worthy to say that governance of the state is beyond Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori as an individual; it is a collective responsibility. If we collectively work for his administration to succeed, all of us will reap the benefits. He is just the man whom Deltans trust so much to lead, but a General without an army cannot succeed; if a tree cannot make a forest, we should know that the Government of Delta State is about the administration of Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori as Governor of Delta State not Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori as an individual.
Few days ago, there were publications about the seizure of three Presidential Jets as a result of debts owed by Ogun State Government. There is no way that Delta State Government will incur debts without clear definition of what the money will be used for and the payment plans. But again, the value of money is what you do with the money.
This material is not in anyway exhaustive about the achievements of the PDP-led administrations in the state but if you are in any part of Delta, there is the likelihood that any government-executed project that you point at was done by either Chief Ibori, Dr Uduaghan, Sen. Dr. Okowa or Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori’s administration not forgetting the storm drainage projects and several other projects that one may not physically see.
So, as a proud Deltan, you should engage in positive activities, obey the admonition of former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, “if we call our cloth oba na anya, others will join us to call it such, but if we call it george, others will respect us for putting on george. ”
Let us continue to trust those we have chosen to lead us; let us remember them in our prayers and let us make our state crime-free, peaceful and investment-friendly to achieve a state of our dreams where all of us will be happy without minding who is in PDP or ACP.
God bless Delta State!
Comrade Fidelis Egugbo is the Senior Special Assistant, Media, to the Governor of Delta State and the Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor of Delta State.
