Two years in office; Okowa spreading misery instead of prosperity-Group

————By Shedrack Onitsha———–

 

A political pressure group that styles itself as Coalition of State Chairmen of Registered Political Parties in Delta State, has said that Dr Ifeanyi Okowa led government in Delta is spreading misery instead of prosperity he promised Deltans during his campaign.  

 

The group noted that on 29th May, 2015 Deltans were excited and sincerely looked forward to a new phase of life that will be distant from the stagnation and hopelessness of the past PDP misrule, but sadly, after two years in office it is clear that Okowa’s government is a sham.

 

In a statement signed by Chief Efe Tobor, Chairman, Prince Jude Eze; Comrade Emeka Bidokwu; Publicity Secretary, and Mr Fred Akpowe, Leader; the group explained that laudable programmes encapsulated in a “SMART Agenda has turned out to be a dumb agenda; and the promised prosperity is nowhere to be found.”

 

They added that, “clearly Delta State has once again been taken for a ride as there is no strategic plan or actions to move the state forward.

 

The group described the state 2017 budget as “a document of deceit.” Because the receipts, expenditures and balances of Delta State account are shrouded in such extreme secrecy that it has made Gov. Okowa administration to stand out as the “most unaccountable” in the history of the state.

 

They also alleged that Okowa’s government can be ranked as the most ethnically-biased government considering the dominance of his kinsmen in his government. And that, “he has succeeded in taking over the roles and responsibilities of Delta State House of Assembly and his State Commissioners, as he awards nearly all contracts by himself from Government House, and gets the Delta State Tenders Board to rubber-stamp them.

 

According to them the; “State fiscal laws in a manner that gives him the “sole right” to award all contracts under N250million which is where most contracts fall into anyway, while State Commissioners are left feeble and gaping.

 

“ It is even worse that most of these contracts are arranged to favour his political cabal and key cronies that are his tribesmen; and this has not only distorted our government but transformed Gov. Okowa into the new “emperor” of Delta State.

 

The group decried the poor state of economy of the state noting that there are many less-endowed states like Anambra, Ebonyi, Kebbi, Jigawa and Cross-River that have developed an economic model that is geared towards putting their people to work and achieving self-sufficiency in food production, and even for export.

 

According to them, “with vast arable land, Dr. Okowa is unable to utilize the enormous amount of money so far received by his administration to create an enabling environment for enterprise to thrive in the state. Deltans have become so impoverished and are crying out loud that the social contract between the government and the people is totally misplaced.”

 

“We also recognize, at this time, that Delta North should pull out their best to secure our support and that of other senatorial districts (Central and South). It was therefore after thorough consultations that we issued an open advertorial to Professor Pat Utomi, and we continue to urge him to fill this yawning gap.

 

“We took time to reason this together and jointly took a bold decision to place our fate and the future dreams of Deltans in the hands of Professor Pat Utomi who has the know-how and the capacity, and more importantly, the honesty that we can trust to move our beloved state from its present shadows into a land of hope and a place of pride for all Deltans.”