From Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Governor of Delta State and vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, on Friday lashed out at the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state for its negative criticism.
The governor said it was high time the main opposition party in the state shut up.
Okowa stated this in Asaba while signing the 2023 Appropriation Bill of N571.6 billion into law.
He said members of APC in the state were either blind to the numerous projects and human capital development of his administration or they refused to acknowledge his performance for obvious political reasons.
According to the governor, this administration has constructed and linked communities with over 2,000 kilometres of roads and thousands of line drainages across the three senatorial districts in the state.
He said the bridge being built across Ewu River would on completion connect 11 abandoned communities in parts of Delta Central.
“For those making very funny comments, it shows that they are not even prepared to come into governance because governance is not all about building bridges and roads, it’s about developing the people with the provision of needed infrastructure.
“There are so many things to speak about and I think it is time for the APC in this state to shut up their mouth. It is not enough to bring in a few poles of street lights that may not last more than three months and you call that development.
“They just drop a few poles in some communities and use it to campaign and make a lot of noise about it. It shows clearly that they don’t care for the people.
“It is very very unfortunate and it is not the right way to go and I can tell you that we are proud of the bridge we are constructing across the Ewu River in Ughelli South and it’s going to connect 11 communities to the rest of the world.
“The fact is there is still a lot to be done in this state and there are lots of other bridges that are ongoing and we do not make noise about them because that is what we were elected to do,” he said.
Okowa said his administration had trained several youths and women and had empowered them with starter packs, adding that “we have continued to mentor them and they have continued to impact on the economy of the state.
“We are proud of the work we have done and we couldn’t have achieved all that without the cooperation of Deltans and the House of Assembly.
“We will remain eternally grateful to the people of Delta and the House of Assembly, and with my Deputy Governor, we remain entirely grateful to all those who have worked with us even for the cooperation of the judiciary.
“We will continue to take steps to fulfill the promises we made to our people even as we have delivered on several projects even in the riverine areas and its something that we are proud to talk about.
“We have revamped our schools to good functionality even as we have built and delivered three model technical colleges which had since commenced academic studies at Asaba, Effurun and Obiaruku.
“We upgraded three institutions to universities and they have continued to contribute to more access to university education for Deltans and Nigerians as over 5,000 students were admitted in the first year and over 6,000 are expected to be admitted in the second year.”
The governor added that his administration had invested heavily on developing infrastructure and had touched many lives across the state without making noise about it.
“Today we have a very functional Secretariat that we are proud of and the workers are happy doing their work in a comfortable office environment.
“We have continued to be the pride of the nation in terms of development of a functional health insurance scheme for our people, particularly for those in the vulnerable group and children under five as well as pregnant women and the elderly.
“I believe that as we return for the elections that the people will appreciate what we have done because we have developed small villages to liveable towns.
“We have not touched all the villages but we have started it because those people are part of Delta and Nigeria and therefore they deserve good amenities.
“The Ogheye Market has been completed and it’s a good sight to behold at night and we will inaugurate it soon. What about the Utonlila and Oboghoro communities that we rebuilt after they were destroyed in the crisis of the past?
“We feel proud that we have been able to touch the lives of the people,” he said.
