DYP frowns at Okowa’s management of Delta resources

———By Ara Ezekiel, ———-

The Delta Youths Parliament (DYP) frowns at the manner in which the Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa is mismanaging the state resources in profligately, while other states are diversifying their revenue base.   

The group rising from a meeting at Ughelli, weekend, said that the dwindling country revenue as a result of the fall in oil price has made governments at various tiers to shift their focus to other largely ignored revenue streams.

The group noted that on April, 2017, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State signed a MoU in Switzerland with Bunes AG for the acquisition of 32 tonnes per hour rice mill, which will in addition to generating revenue for the government, create 200,000 jobs.

DYP also observed that recently, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo commissioned the 60,000 metric-tonnes per year in Edo state, Fertilizer and Chemical Company that was rejuvenated by Gov. Godwin Obaseki that is meant to create 500 direct jobs.

In a statement signed by group President and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Wilson Okorugbo and Comrade Oscar Wiliki noted that there is no single investment in the state; “rather what we hear is the divestment of 60% equity stake of Delta line to a private business owner.

They added the action of the governor has a political undertone and it is not in the economic interest of the state as the reason given by the government for divestment it stake in Delta Line  does not reflect the reality on ground.

According to them, ‘it is a clear agenda of vendetta against the immediate past administration which repositioned the company with 160 brand new Toyota hiace and 76 new Toyota corolla cars and cash incentives, in a futile effort to erase Uduaghan’s legacy.

“It will be recalled that immediately Gov. Okowa was sworn in, he sacked over 3,000 civil servants employed by his predecessor and dissolved the Delta state Edu/ Environmental marshals and established the Delta state traffic management authority (DESTMA).

“We are very confident that no private investor will invest in Delta Line if it is not commercially viable as Okowa’s government is making us to believe.

The group further argued that if there is no remittance of revenue from the company, why has the company not been audited since passengers are issued tickets at the park, also the drivers registered their names in the manifest at Ogwashi –Ukwu junction with the task force. And if the account has been audited why has Okowa not prosecuted the culprits’ who were indicted from the audit report?

“A responsive government would do the needful instead of divesting, would audit the company, prosecute those indicted and put machineries in place to block all wastage and set targets of revenue to be generated by the company.”