By Felix Ofou
There is no doubt that Delta North Senatorial District gave more votes to His Excellency, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, Governor of Delta State more votes in the 2023 guber poll. This does not in anyway diminish the votes of the two other Senatorial Districts of Central and South. Indeed, the Governor won 21 out of 25 local governments, clearly making him holder of a pan-Delta mandate.
Following the recent furore regarding the performance of the Oborevwori administration in Delta North, it has become expedient to put the records straight, so as not to obfuscate the facts, which no doubt, are glaring for all to see. This is by no means stating that more cannot be achieved, even as it must be pointed out that the administration has only spent 15 months in office.
Deltans will recall that in his inaugural address at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba on May 29, 2023, Oborevwori promised to be Governor to all. This, he immediately demonstrated by turning the entire state into a huge construction site, such that there is no local government that is without one project or the other.
Oborevwori’s MORE agenda of Meaningful developments, Opportunities for all, Realistic Reforms and Enhanced peace and security can be felt in the nooks and crannies of the state. Deltans, irrespective of tribe or creed are daily assured that the overwhelming votes for the Governor were not misplaced.
In particular, it must be noted that work on the Ughelli-Asaba highway, started by former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan and continued by his successor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa has received unprecedented boost under Oborevwori.
Motorists would recall that until this administration came into being, that they had to cross cross lanes while travelling on the Ughelli-Asaba highway from the Asaba end to Ogwashi-uku, before veering off towards Kwale. Work at Ubu bridge before Obasanjo farm, previously, almost at a stand still, is now on the upswing, with a promise by the Governor that that section will be ready by December. This has consequently led to relative safety on that stretch of the road.
Similarly, the multi billion naira Kwale-Beneku bridge linking Ndokwa West and Ndokwa East LGAs has continued with accelerated pace since Governor Oborevwori took over office, such that it is about 99 percent completed to the delight and appreciation of adjoining communities who will no longer commute by canoe, boat or pontoon.
It must further be pointed out that the Governor commissioned a chain of connecting roads in Asaba, as part of activities marking his 100 days in office. The roads, 29 in all, with drainages on both sides, though started by Senator Okowa, were completed by Oborevwori, including the strategic road housing the Delta State Traditional Rulers Council.
Also, Rt Hon Oborevwori was in the campuses of Dennis Osadebay University, Anwai and the University of Delta, Agbor to commission multiple projects, including ultra modern auditoriums and lecture theaters as part of his 100 days in office. Management and students of both institutions attest to the Governor’s empathy and concern for their welfare.
Remarkably, students of Dennis Osadebay University are excited about two new hostels recently completed by the Oborevwori administration. Though not commissioned, the hostels were used by athletes from Lagos and Taraba states who took part in the National Youth Games. With the games over, the students are eager for the authorities to allocate spaces for their immediate use.
Needless to add that the 5.5km Okpanam-Ibusa bypass, which is resplendent of Oborevwori’s Midas touch, remains a testament the Governor’s determination to do MORE. That road has made commuters travelling from Benin, Okpanam and other neighbouring towns to do so without the burden of first connecting the ever busy Koka junction before heading to their destinations. Real estate and other strategic businesses have found that axis very attractive since the road was opened.
Of course, we cannot forget in a hurry that the Governor broke the jinx surrounding the construction of the headquarters of the judiciary in the state. Conceived in 1991 when Delta was created, the project had defied completion for many years, including several designs and alterations to the original plan. Today, that structure, in Asaba, stands as a befitting edifice, which former President Goodluck Jonathan described as the best in the country during the commissioning.
The ongoing construction of the Storm Drainage Channel from Owa-Alero and its environs through Owa-Alizimor and Owa-Afie to link Iyi-Amah stream in Ika North -East Local Government Area of the state remains a reference point, not only of Oborevwori’s commitment to complete inherited projects, but to give the state a facelift.
Conceived by the Okowa administration, the storm drainage project which transcends Ika North East and Ika South LGAs, is expected to curb the menace of incessant flooding and erosion ravaging the area. Oborevwori has ensured that work continues and is determined to see it’s early realization.
Moreover, the administration recently completed the Ugbolu Onwuka road and Ogbotobor Avenue in Oshimili South local government, while rehabilitation of Gerald Onianwa Crescent, Odigwe Juwah Avenue, Ify Okeke Street, Nkem Okwuofu Street, Victor Anene Street and MBA Road all in Asaba is in progress.
The Governor has also approved award of contract for the construction of Okey and Iyke Oputa Street, Aboh in Ndokwa East, Issele-Azagba-Otulu Road in Antiocha North and South LGAs, projects which are meant to transform the outlook of those areas.
Yet, these myriad of projects outlined do not include beneficiaries of Oborevwori’s social investment programme, job creation Initiatives, youth and girl child empowerment, bursary for students and other human capital development schemes from which people from Delta North have benefitted.
Neither have we enumerated number of persons from the Senatorial Districts employed in the nine LGAs from the zone, Pensioners who may have benefitted from the N40 billion loan guaranteed by the Governor, children benefitting from the free education programme and 0-5/free maternal care for pregnant women being sustained by the state government.
Ultimately, we must concede that Oborevwori has continued to work in all parts of the state, even when he has only spent 15 months in office.
The tendency to be impatient or demand more from the government should not detract from the reality that the former Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly to be Governor to all. And posterity will be kind to him for doing so.
Ofou is Executive Assistant on New Media to Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, Governor of Delta State.
