Largest private investor and leading governorship candidate under the auspices of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), His Excellency, Olorogun Barr. Kenneth Gbagi, OON, said he has the antidotes to the myriads of problems bedeviling Delta State.
He called on Deltans to vote massively for the Social Democratic Party in the 2023 gubernatorial election.
Addressing the Bishop of Warri Diocese, Rt. Rev’d Christian Ide and clergymen at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, on Tuesday 17th 2023, he urged Deltans to believe in his candidacy as the first black man in the world to become an AKS member of Rotary International to donate $250, 000 to charity, saying he has the capacity to woo investors into the state.
The security expert, cautioned Deltans against repeating mistakes of 2015 and 2019 where, according to him, the current ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the State, used lies, outright falsehood and propaganda to attain power.
The famous minister of state for education and former Chairman, Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, implored Deltans to see him, as a job creator and a man ready to take the State to greater heights and the passion in changing the narrative for the better.
Hear him: “We are going into the election months, February for the presidency and March, they will be running for the governorship election of Delta State.
“My joy is that you have been here over the years. So, you have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. My worries why I am in all of these, is that I believe I have what it takes to bring back the necessary change.
“Never would I have imagined that we will ever get to this level of decadence. It has come to a stage where Delta State has become the lying headquarters of Nigeria, where you see this clothe as blue, somebody from the government sees it as black and they will use the social media to pursue it that it is black.
“This great Warri, where we have great companies, has become a slump because all the companies have all gone and nobody is taking responsibility.
“This is the first time in our history as a people that our children have all drifted from Warri, to somewhere else. Our children no longer find Warri and the entire Delta State comfortable to live.
“Security has become a problem. The entire Delta State has become a slump. Bishop, without you borrowing money, today, you are indebted to the tune of about N244, 000 that you, your children and grandchildren must pay.
“We owe today, about N664 billion in a state where we have received about N3.2 trillion. Nothing has actually changed from the point of governance and I am worried, having thought in my private business life that the best thing was for people to contribute and jointly develop the commerce and business world of their society.
“On your street here, Bishop, 32-33 years ago, I built the Robinson Gbagi Plaza, believing that I needed to contribute to society to make sure that I uplift the Warri, presence. Today, I have over 3, 000 youths passing through that mall.
“When it became difficult for me to control, I built another one in PTI. The government has failed us, they lie to us. No industry is coming, nobody wants to invest in this economy.
“I am talking to Shell, they said they will come back if they find a governor with character. Shell left here to other shores where they believe there is some resemblance of character in government.
“Chevron, left us and they fly their people into Escravos and take them back after 14 days. By that we lost, because they don’t pay the tax here they pay to Lagos because that is where they stay and all the servicing companies have left”.
He lamented that the monies borrowed are not reflected in the society, just as he called on the church to be mindful of the risk and danger ahead otherwise, the church would continue to complain if it makes the wrong choice of a governor.
He called on them to do a fact check on the backgrounds and unearth the histories of those vying for the governorship, their antecedents, their contributions to the development of the State to know if they deserve their votes.
Speaking further, the largest employer of labour in the State, disclosed: “I just built a massive factory that will produce beverage of about 48, 000 bottles packed to sell on the Warri-Sapele road.
“I am not a politician in the sense of the word politics, as they play it here. I have not in my life borrowed one Kobo, I am a trader and an entrepreneur.
“The fact remains that were you to bring somebody who knows nothing order than to scramble for the little money that comes from the federal government between N10 to N15 billion that never work, and believe that it can develop the economy, we are heading for a crash”.
While calling on them to vote for SDP, in the forthcoming general election, the industrialist, said: Bishop, the solution, is industrialization, to bring back our lost companies. I believe that I have what it takes to industrialize Delta State”, he declared.
