- He has completed over 40 roads – Spokesman
As Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, celebrates his second year in office with the inspection and inauguration of various projects across the state, a chieftain of the Advance Congress for Democrats in the state, Hon. Johnbull Okoro, has said that there is nothing for the people to be jubilant about.
But a media aide to the governor, Mr. Ossai Ovie Success, said that the Okowa administration had completed over 40 roads across the state in the past two years.
Okoro insisted that the two year-old administration of Governor Okowa had failed the people of Delta State.
He’s not concerned with the welfare of the people
The ACD chieftain, who spoke with our correspondent in Ozoro, Isoko North Local Government Area of the state, noted that the governor’s failure to pay the salaries of the staff of local government councils out of the monthly Federal allocation accruing to the state was a clear indication that his administration was never concerned about the well-being of the people in the state.
He said, “Our checks revealed that the initial g e n t l e m a n agreement entails sharing of the monthly Federal allocations accruing to local government councils in Delta State in such a way that the local government councils will get 50 per cent, while the remaining 50 per cent will be used to pay primary school staff, even as we reliably gathered that the Okowa administration stopped the release of the N600 million his predecessors used to augment local government councils’ allocations monthly.”
Okoro added that it had become important to remind Deltans of the situation in the state, accusing the Okowa administration of plunging the majority of the people into despondency in the past two years.
He, however, advised Governor Okowa to amend his ways if he wanted to return for a second term in office in 2019, saying the various town hall meetings convened by the governor was just a way of showcasing his failure to the public. The governor’s media aide, Success, who also spoke with our correspondent in Asaba, the state capital, said that the state government had successfully completed over 40 standard roads out of the over 90 it embarked upon.
He noted that the roads were completed inspite of the recession and as a result of prudent management of resources by Governor Okowa, adding that all the local government areas in the state had the footprints of the administration in terms of projects.
He said, “Delta State, as we all know, is an oil and agricultural producing state in Nigeria, with a population of over four million and an estimated area of 762 square kilometres (294 sq mi) located in the South-South geo-political zone. “During the 2015 general elections, Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, made a promise as he moved from one local government to another in Delta State. He promised to transform roads in Delta if voted into power.
“Today as promised by Gov Ifeanyi Okowa, he has been fair, just and equitable to the people of Delta State over the distribution of projects as over 90 roads hav e been constructed and rehabilitated, some have been commissioned, while some are awaiting commissioning and some are still under construction.”
Speaking further, Success made it clear that Gov Okowa had never abandoned the riverine communities in the state contrary to claims by some people.
“Even though our monthly revenue both from the Federation Account and Internally Generated Revenue have dipped significantly, Governor Okowa has shown dexterity in managing the little available as can be seen from the harvest of road projects across the state in his second year in office.
“Most importantly is the construction of rural roads in the riverine communities, where successive governments had failed to develop. No thanks to the difficult terrain. Governor Okowa deserves the commendation of Deltans for being a beacon of hope to the abandoned communities by threading the path many dreaded so much, “he said.
