Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege in this interview with Abuja Bureau Chief OBIORA IFOH said he is set to transform Delta State if elected governor. Excerpt
Your ambition in Delta State to many, that’s a very herculean task, because the Delta is PDP, how do you hope to get anything out from Delta State in this coming election?
That is a very serious misconception to tag Delta State, a PDP state, not by any means. Okowa is very ripe for the taking. Delta is very ripe for the taking. We determined to achieve this, we’ve been going round each local governments ward by ward, making the case drawing the attention of the people of the state to the misgovernance and lack of performance on the part of not just Okowa but the PDP led administration in the past 14 years, but most especially in the last seven and a half years; and the message we’re saying to people is resonating. We’ve been able to make the case to them, that Delta State is supposedly a very, very rich state and indeed a very rich state given the contributions that we’ve made, not only to the economy of this country, but also to the economy of the state, because of the receipts we have gotten from federal allocation, inclusive of a 13% derivation and other resources that come to the state by way of IGR. By our own reckoning, since the Okowa administration came into being Delta State has received close to about 4.2 trillion naira. And this came like I said, by way of federal allocation, it came by way of13% derivation, and also about 400 billion naira that the state has borrowed. Only recently, thanks to my brother, the governor of Rivers state, who also made us to understand that another 260 billion naira was given to our state (on account of shortfall payment). So if you look at that, that will be a total of 4.2 trillion Naira that has come to the state. There’s nothing on ground by way of infrastructural development that is commensurate with all of these receipts that come to the state.
The people are in despair. We have civil servants who gave the best part of their years in the service of the state and upon retirement, are still being owed gratuities, for the most part pensions. Some owed 6, 7, 8 and 9 years and they have not been paid, for a state that is that rich? We have as you all know, the minimum wage which has been approved for the entire country. In Delta State not withstanding our receipts, Delta is one of the very few states that is not paying minimum wage. When you have states even up North that receive close to about a quarter, in most cases even less of the allocations coming to Delta State paying minimum wage. The health sector is in a state of decay, same to the educational sector. Before Okowa became governor we had tuition and other fees in Delta State tertiary institutions going for about 17,000 Naira per year, but today, right now it is about 470,000 Naira per student. Now, these are children of Deltans, who have not been paid the minimum wage. These are children of retirees who have not being paid their pensions, but yet are supposed to fork up some money, additional increases to pay this tuition for their children.
So the state is in serious despair. People are very very angry and they are in a hurry to kick out this government. And on top of that, there’s also this issue of equity. People are very, very gentle. We are very gentle people, our word is our bond in Delta State. We are equitable, we fight for equity for all.
It is the position of Deltans and most especially, indeed or the entire southern Nigeria, that given the fact that we have supported Mr. President Muhammadu Buhari, President for the past eight years, it’s only fair, just and equitable that the next President should come from southern Nigeria. And it may also interest you that Okowa as the chairman of the governors forum in South South was one of those who led this charge, and met in Asaba, where the case was made, and the position was taken, and a communique was signed to the effect that at the expiration of the tenure of Mr. President from northern Nigeria, the next president must come from the south. That position of the governors was equally supported by Mr. President himself. Muhammadu Buhari. The Presidents supported the same position. And then we’re also lucky to have had the support of the governors of northern Nigeria most especially of the APC’s abstraction, I believe about 16 or 17 of them all came together and approved the same position taken by the governors of southern Nigeria.
So to the chagrin and disappoinment of many at home, Okowa has betrayed that course by selling away our right to the presidency, and instead going for a meager office of a Vice President at a time when the entire country is offering us the presidency. So our people are not taking this treachery kindly and determined that they will punish Okowa.
So our prospects have been very bright in addition to what we offer, we want to change the narrative in the state. We have our own agenda, a planning manifesto we christined the agenda. In the agenda, we’re taking a look at the challenges facing the state. Most importantly, the issue of unemployment. We had children that have graduated from school, some 6, 7, 8, 9 years without employment opportunities, despite the money that come to the state. So we’ve decided to focus on job creation for our people inclusive of empowerment of people by way of employment, and then also trying to create opportunities for our women and children by empowering them to set up their own businesses to keep their families together.
Like I said, the same manifesto also addresses the issue of infrastructural decay. If you go to Delta State today, there is no road, no single road that is a new road that was constructed by Okowa as a governor. The last set of roads that we have in Delta State were constructed by a Governor Ibori. Since that time not a single new road, either by Governor Uduagan or by Governor Okowa. All he’s been doing is doing patches using mushroom companies to do patches, or remedial work on some of these roads which after three, four months, they get washed away by by the rains.
So, we were determined to arrest this infrastructural decay by making this a priority in the next government, which were provided for in our manifesto. But most importantly, the issue of enduring peace and security which is another plan and the manifesto is what we intend to focus on. Because at the end of the day for us to be able to have all of the jobs created to have companies that have left the state, come back to the state to set up and help create employment opportunities for our people, we need to create an enduring peaceful environment for them.
We have states that invested so much in security, I don’t want to mention names, you know, there were some states that have taken security as a priority, did the requisite investments, and those efforts are yielding results.
So we intend to do the same putting the requisite investments so that those companies that have left can come back and help us to create employment.
How do you combine your role as the Deputy Senate President and your campaigns, and what are your key priority areas to develop Delta State?
I think it’s important that people get the benefit of a response to that question. Yes, I am the Deputy Senate President and I have my daytime job here in the National Assembly. But my people also understand that I’m also the guber candidate for APC in the 2023 general elections. I have a reputation for multitasking. I have tried as much as possible. With the help and assistance of my principal, the president of the senate who is very accommodating and understanding of my quest at home, and he holds forth when I’m away, and where it becomes almost impossible for him to cope without me he puts his foot down for my campaign and do my job to which I was elected. And I was able to come in from time to time to do that, by way of presiding over the Senate. But beyond that. I’ve also been around to participate in debates on the floor. I can say yes, there’s no problem. I’ve been able to combine both assignments. With my campaign, we have 25 local government areas, we’ve gone round 15 of them. By our calculation, we should have been done with 17 but we had some of our supporters in our campaign train, we had a tragedy in the riverine areas just before the Christmas and we felt in honor of the departed, we suspended the campaigns and mourned with their families.
Now we’re about to resume actually tomorrow (Friday), to face the remaining 10 local governments and so far we are doing well. My priorities like I’ve mentioned, if you go to Delta today one that irks every home, there is no home you will go to in Delta state you will not find that challenge, it’s one of them. If you go to Delta State today, there is no homestead where you will not meet a child who has gone to school, well educated, graduated 6,7,8,9 years ago, who is unemployed. This unemployment challenge knows, no party boundaries, knows no language boundaries, no religious boundaries, unemployment is unemployment.
Our people at home, all they seek is an opportunity to hold a daytime job, to be able to take care of their families. So, we’re making this a priority through that plank of our manifesto, which is employment and the employment of our people.
Now, how do we intend to do this? I must make it clear, we have a clear understanding that government really does not create jobs, should not really be in the business of creating jobs, but should be in the business of creating the enabling environment for jobs to be created.
In the past, we’ve had so many companies in the state that, when the economy was booming, gave employment opportunities to our people, but most of these companies, for one reason or the other, but for the most part, citing security concerns, have moved away from the state to other states, where they are contributing so much to the IGR and other revenue sources of those states.
So we’re asking ourselves, what do we do to attract them, to bring them back to a Delta State. We intend to address this issue of security. Like I said, it’s a matter of political will, should you decide to make the appropriate requisite investment in that sector. There’s no reason why we should not be able to attract these companies to come back.
Like I said, we have a few states, for security reasons, I won’t mention them, but these are issues that I have privileged access, because of my office. In my interaction with security agencies, we got to know what those security devices, how expensive they are and which states have decided to make the investments and the results that have yielded from those investments.
I’m confident that it’s something we’re determined to do, to invest in Delta and once we do that, all these companies will come back to the state because that’s the reason they left in the first place, beyond and besides giving them further incentives, to bring the companies back, maybe dwell so much, take advantage of the pioneer status, which they’re entitled to; to bring them in there, to help them with their taxes, provide land for them.
Basically, ease-of-doing-business will make it easier for them to come to the state, make it more attractive, we have to give them reasons why it is better to come and do business, as opposed to remaining in other states. So we’re looking at that.
Then two, we also have some of these companies that were there, have shut down, most of them are into the manufacturing sector and the raw materials that they were using are still there. I’ll give you an example, take Ughelli, for instance, where we used to have the Bendel Glass factory and then the Delta Glass factory.
Now all of the raw materials needed for those companies to function are still there, they never left. Today, one is functioning, Delta Glass, which is now Bita Glass, it is functioning but Delta Glass is dead and we’re asking ourselves why? While Delta Glass was functioning, they were creating a lot of employment opportunities for our people. So we tend to bring that back.
Look at it AT&P (African Timber and Plywood), we still have the forest we have the woods, there’s no reason why we cannot attract them back. Maybe with a different name, but to start something. No reason. So also is the Asaba Textile Mill. What happened? The cottons that is being grown there is still there.
So, it’s just that it has not been a priority of government, but we want to make it the priority so that these companies can come back and set up and begin to assist in that endeavour.
Then, in terms of infrastructural development, look at the roads, for instance. I keep giving an example, I was in Imo State, I believe about 3 to 4 months ago, when Mr. President was invited to commission about 50 kilometer road that was constructed by my friend, the governor of Imo State, Governor Hope Uzodinma. It’s a federal road, I’m emphasizing that, it’s a federal road, but the governor used the resources of the people of Imo State to do that road, double carriageway, with streetlight all through,
I heard him when he was remarking to Mr. President that this is a federal road. Ordinarily it is the obligation of the federal government, but he also realized that the people who play that road are not federal officials from Abuja, they’re indigenes of Imo State who play the roles.
Likewise, we intend to do the same in Delta. The two major routes, as you know, the one leading from Ughelli through Isoko, to Kwale to Asaba, is a federal road, we admit. The one leading from PTI to Warri, through Agbor to Asaba, also a federal road, admitted. But it is not the federal people who will ply these roads, it is you and I, Deltans, and there’s no reason why, given the resources that we have, the amount of money that has come to the state, inclusive of the borrowing, why some of this money should not be used to complete the construction of these roads.
So we intend, as one of our priorities, federal roads or not, we’re going to engage in the construction or reconstruction of these roads. But why it matters, for the purpose of this question, is that we’re also, unlike what the current government is doing, by using some Mom&Pop companies, who have no business even doing menial jobs, to handle this kind of major roads that’ll wash away after three, four months, we intend to bring in reputable companies like Julius Berger, just like Governor Wike is doing in Rivers.
But we’ll insist on one thing, just for the purpose of this question; on local content, local content. If you need an engineer, an artisan, we have them, among these kids who have graduated from school, about 6,7,8 years, they’ve graduated, they have the educational know-how. If you need an engineer amongst them, use the system of local content, you must give them priority. It’s only when you demonstrate to us that the technical know-how and experience you require is not present locally, that’s the only time we’ll permit you to go outside. So that’s another way of helping to address the employment and unemployment concerns.
Our roads, our schools, our hospitals are in serious state of decay. So we’ll also be focusing on infrastructure. I was in the riverine area campaigning, not too long ago and this is the breadbasket, so to speak, of this country, the bulk of the wealth of this country come from that area. We’re talking about the Itsekiri waterways and the Ijaw waterways. That is where the bulk of the wealth of this country is produced.
But when you go there, this are basically existing, they’re not living, but they produce the bulk of this wealth. You go there, imagine a woman for instance, living in that community, who is pregnant, goes into labour, complicated labour, and needs to get to the nearest hospital in Warri. If she is lucky, the speedboat that would take her to the hospital, it will take about two and a half hours, that is if you are lucky to get a speedboat immediately, otherwise, if you are using the smaller ones that it will take you about five hours, what happens that woman in labour?
Now, we have a medical doctor, who is a governor, the one who was governor before him, also a medical doctor, and in this case, he actually comes from that local government area, that terrain and it beats me, frankly, why they’ve not been able to identify and handle some of these issues. So, we intend to bring development, as expensive as it is, and indeed it is expensive, no doubt, to these riverine communities by way of improvements in the health sector, making sure we provide, I won’t say a glorified healthcare center, I won’t accept that, buy something meaningful, commensurate with the contributions of these people to the economy of the state.
So, we want to address the health sector, we want to address the education sector, if you go to most of the tertiary institutions we have in the state, there are even state’s tertiary institutions that are basically being run by TETFUND, some of them are like glorified secondary schools.
I believe we can do better, we’re a rich state, we have enough resources. If the bulk of the money that the current governor devoted to the funding of the Atiku/Okowa Campaign for President, if even ordinary 1/10 of that money is devoted to addressing this infrastructure decay in Delta, the state will be better.
