WHY GOVERNOR OKOWA SHOULD BE VOTED OUT OF DELTA STATE GOVERNMENT HOUSE

There was a time when Delta State, particularly the oil city of Warri and its environs, was the economic hub and Commercial nerve center of business activities in the oil and gas industry as well as in trade and investment. Back then, the issues of kidnapping, youth restiveness/militancy, and illegal bunkering/refining activities were unheard of in Warri and the entire Delta State. All of that has been lost over the years due to “bad governance” and the “placements of political leaders” that were/are square pegs in round holes, specifically between 1999 to date. But with the coming Gubernatorial elections in Delta State, there is the urgent need for Deltans and Nigerians living in Delta State to massively vote out Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, so as not to allow them continue with their “bad governance”, and in order to bring back the lost glory of the oil city of Warri and environs.

To make it simple, and to be blunt, the following are some of the reasons why the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa PDP-led administration in Delta State needs to be voted out:

• The number one reason is the undeniable fact that Governor Okowa and his PDP-led administration, has proven over the last four years to be a clueless, visionless, goalless, purposeless and directionless Government that really do not have anything concrete, meaningful and sustainable to offer Deltans and Nigerians in Delta State, as a ruling state Government. Truth be told, the PDP has lost its relevance in the State. In fact, they have demonstrated to lack the innovation and modern ideas to restore the state back to its lost glory, hence they have overstayed their welcome and should be voted out by the people. Other than enjoying the specks/fringe-benefits of being in power; mismanaging/misappropriating public funds to the benefit of some few, but to the detriment of many; abusing/misusing his position with his style of political appointments and creation of unnecessary portfolios and agencies of State Government through which public funds are wasted – there is nothing else concrete the Okowa PDP-led administration can be remembered for.
• There is need for Deltans to realize that the 2019 Gubernatorial election will be a “defining one for Deltans and Nigerians” in the State to either chose to remain under the 20years yoke, slavery and bondage of the PDP stronghold/cabal, or they break free from that yoke for something new and to see the desired change to manifest. Delta State is in desperate need of vibrant and people-oriented-vision-driven New Set of Political Leaders with ‘fresh ideas’ to work with the President Muhammadu Buhari APC-led Administration.
• With the recent victory of President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential polls, Deltans need to vote out Okowa’s PDP-led Government and vote in a New Set of Political Leaders of the ruling APC that would get the support of the Presidency, so as to revive all the abandoned Ports in Delta State and build a state-of-the-art Airport in Osubi, Warri, as well as to attract other Federal Government Projects to Delta State. We also need President Buhari to support the incoming Government of the APC in Delta State, to build standard infrastructure and basic amenities that will turn Delta State into a business hub in the South-South. Delta State has more natural ports than any other state in the country. Lagos is congested already with population and sea vessels, hence we need to bring the development of Delta Ports to fruition, since the Ports here are closer to Abuja and the entire North. We also need the Presidency under Buhari to bring back Shell (SPDC) and other multinationals that have left Delta State since the PDP administration in Delta State. Delta State should not lose out in the scheme of things in the country’s political landscape, by not voting in an APC-led Government in the State, for us to see the desired changes in the State.
• No responsible and vision-driven Governor/Government will wait till few weeks to the end of its term in office before ‘hurriedly‘ start patching roads and carrying out some infrastructural projects that he has abandoned since. The big question to ask is: if Governor Okowa is not contesting for the gubernatorial race in the 2019 election, would he have embarked on any last-minute hasty road patch work at all in the State? The answer to that question is quite evident. The only reason he is doing this last-minute hasty works, is simply because he is contesting for his second tenure. No responsible and vision-driven Governor/Government will be appointing Commissioners, Special Assistants, etc. few weeks to the end of its tenure, for the said appointees to do what exactly? It is a clear indication that Governor Okowa and his Government never had a people-oriented vision, and they are practically clueless as to why they found themselves in Government in the first place – other than to satisfy their selfish ambitions and those that are supporting them.
• The Warri industrial park, the Osubi airport upgrade, the Warri Ports, and so many other numerous infrastructural projects left by his predecessor, are all abandoned under this Okowa PDP-led Government. Is it the current patching/repairs of roads that Okowa is doing few weeks to the end of his first tenure, that will now make Delta State great? Or Deltans Prosperous? As Okowa promised. Or will his recent and past actions in the last almost-four years, restore the lost glory of Warri and environs and the entire State? What tangible infrastructure on ground can we pinpoint and confidently say it was built by the Okowa administration? What legacy can we point out and use to remember the Okowa PDP-led administration?
• The elites and politicians still supporting/campaigning for Governor Okowa are obviously doing so because they are gaining and hoping to gain from the system under him, hence they have smeared their conscience with hot iron, and have turned a blind to all that is wrong with this Government, just to bring the said Government back. These elites and politicians, who are nothing but evil and wicked, do not deserve any attention from Deltans and Nigerians in the State in deciding who they want to vote as Governor in the next Gubernatorial election.
• The politics of zoning is not only unconstitutional, but also undemocratic, and as such, should not be used by some politicians and elites as a basis for Deltans/Nigerians to continue to tolerate/accommodate the mediocre of a government demonstrated by the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa administration in Delta State for almost four years now. What we earnestly need in Delta State is ‘goodgovernance‘ exhibited by a good leadership, which the Okowa is not, and not this so-called zoning of governorship to a particular Senatorial District of Delta State. Delta State is in desperate need of good leadership. It is evident that the Okowa Administration has failed woefully in this regard in his first term in office, which will also be his last tenure as a Governor. The developed countries like the UK, US, France, etc., which we all admire today, did not become great nations because of zoning. They became great simply because of ‘good leadership‘ that is accountable to the people. That is grossly missing in Delta State in the last 19 years plus, which the Okowa Administration is planning to continue.
• All of this goes to justify the fact that the Okowa Government is a complete failure, and such a government has overstayed its welcome and surely needs to be replaced. By his recent actions, it is evident that if elected, Governor Okowa will completely abandon his constitutional responsibilities in addressing infrastructural needs of the State because he would no longer be required to recontest again since it will then be his second and last tenure.
• We need a Delta State Government that will bring back the past lost glory of Warri and its environs, so that major companies and oil giants will return back to the oil city. The natural creeks/swamp communities that God has graciously blessed the State with, ought to be ‘tourist attraction centres‘ and not abandoned for poor farmers and fisher men to wallow in their poverty. The enormous natural and human resourcefulness that are available in Delta State, are more than enough to make Warri and the entire Delta State become a business hub and tourist centre, if only we make the right choice in the next Governorship election in Delta State.
• The bottom line is that Governor Okowa should be rejected at the gubernatorial polls during the 2019 election, and a new administration voted in that will provide the enabling environment, and basic infrastructure that will stimulate economic growth. The rice some politicians are sharing during festival periods are not sign of ‘good governance‘, but simply sign of a failed government. When the economic well-being of the State is improved by the Government as it is expected, the people should be able to afford good food, accommodation, good healthcare, quality education for all. And those who are retired can even get good homes. While those who cannot get or afford good shelters can get council houses without having any special connections or being connected to Mr. governor. This is because it is the responsibility of the government to provide a conducive atmosphere, and basic infrastructure that will stimulate all of this, and not individual responsibilities. We are calling on all Deltans/Nigerians to SAY NO TO THIS SHAME AND INCOMPETENCE OF A GOVERNMENT. What we all urgently need in Delta State is ‘sustainable development‘ that would improve the living standards of the masses. But the Governor Okowa PDP-led administration cannot be able to do this, even if given the next ten years. As such, the present PDP-led administration in Delta State should be voted out.

We have simply said our piece. He that has ears, let him listen and heed to the voice of wisdom.

Zik Gbemre.

National Coordinator

Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)

We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes