They say politics is a bitch. It is because it gives room for all comers. That is why one Tony Ezeagwu, described as the Chairman of the Labour Party in the South-South geo-political zone, could come up during the week to raise unreasoned voice against Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s performance in 100 days in office.
To be fair, there was an Obidient Movement in Delta State but I do not see that there was nor is a Labour Party in any effectiveness or reasonableness.
I can almost swear that 99.9% of Deltans, including members of the Obidient Movement, did not know and never reckoned with Ken Pela, Labour’s Gubernatorial candidate. Those who probably knew him probably also knew that he was never going to be good news.
In view of that, we saw members of the Obidient Movement become “Obidiently Sheriffied” in deference to the person and candidature of Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori in the Gubernatorial election.
That happened right under the nose of the said Tony Ezeagwu but, what is even more curious, is that he would even display his abject lack of understanding of governance and development systematics.
According to him, Oborevwori has not performed under 100 days in office because he focused on completing the projects he inherited from former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa instead of initiating his own regime projects.
Everyone knows that government is a continuum and Governor Oborevwori had indicated, right from the start, that his focus would be on consolidation and advancement, meaning he would complete ongoing projects and programmes while initiating new ones.
In fact, Oborevwori rightly pointed out that part of the problems that has impeded Nigeria’s development is new leaders abandoning projects inherited from their predecessors to initiate new ones in their names, merely for self glory.
As revealed by the Delta State Ministry of Works, Oborevwori inherited about 400 ongoing projects relevant to different communities. Simple sense would mean that those projects are continued even while the Governor initiates new ones. It is important to also understand that the application of funds have to be targeted.
To ask, what sense would it make to dwell only on new projects when old, ongoing projects have not been completed?
Let’s take the Ughelli-Asaba Expressway, the Trans Warri – Ode Itsekiri bridge and road project, the Beneku Bridge project connecting Ndokwa West and Ndokwa East to the Riverine areas, the storm water drainage project in Warri and environs, for instance, what sense would it make to abandon their completion for new and different projects?
To situate the discourse, the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors had had cause to raise the alarm over the spate, causes and effect of abandoned projects on our national development.
Speaking the through its National President, Abbah Tor, in the Vanguard Newspaper publication of December 21, 2021, the institute, identified 56,000 abandoned projects, the cost and wastage it put at about N12 trillion. Recent statistics suggest that the number may have risen to 400,000 abandoned projects yearly across the country.
The excerpt of to the Vanguard report read:
“The Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, NIQS, disclosed the existence of this large quantum of uncompleted projects, estimating the cost at N12 trillion.
“New regimes tend to abandon contracts awarded by their predecessors… Everyone wants to pursue his “legacy” projects which eventually ends in “legacy corruption.
‘If the right things were done and these 56,000 projects were completed as part of our development efforts, Nigeria would have definitely been a much better place for all citizens. These capital projects would have contributed in boosting wealth and employment creation, and the violent crimes wreaking havoc on Nigeria would be minimal and easily controllable.
“As a nation, we must turn a new leaf. The 2023 elections must not be business as usual. We must elect leaders who will rally the country to install checks against corrupt project abandonment. The Legislature, judiciary, media, civil society and the populace must rise against corrupt leadership. Government is a continuum; a relay race. The baton exchange must continue until government projects are fully actualised.”
Given this professionally informed admonition, it is a shame that Ezeagwu is suggesting that Gov Oborevwori should abandon existing, ongoing projects, for new ones, just for the sake of aggrandising himself in his 100 days in office.
The good news for Deltans is that Gov Oborevwori does not reason that way. As a sane and smart grassroots man, he believes in completing and giving meaning to the projects he met on ground while also initiating new projectiles with due consideration of relevance.
Accordingly, while he is focusing on completing the inherited projects, many of which he has redesigned, new projects have been approved for action even right from the very first meeting of the State Executive Council.
The new projects include the reconstruction of Upper and Lower Erejuwa Roads; rehabilitation of Esisi Road from Warri Sapele Road to Estate Roundabout with a spur to Nana College and link to Ajamimogha in Warri; rehabilitation and asphalt overlay of the failed sections of PTI Road in Effurun, Uvwie; and the installation of all-in-one LED solar powered street lights along NPA – DSC Expressway and its environs in Uvwie and Warri South areas.
Others are the rehabilitation and asphalt overlay of Oviri Court-Adagbrasa Road, and rehabilitation and asphalt overlay of Ohorhe-Adagbrasa-Ugolo-Okuodiete road with a spur from Adagbrasa to Ughwagba Community to Okan Junction along the Eku-Osubi-Effurun Road in Okpe LGA.
Also approved are the construction of roads around Otovwodo Junction in Ughelli North; the construction of Nsukwa-Umute-Adonte Road (Phase I) from Nsukwa to Umute in Aniocha South; and
remedial works on the failed approach on Bedesegba Bridge along Ohoror-Bomadi Road in Bomadi LGA.
It is therefore disappointing to see that Ezeagwu is not following developments in his state, that is if he is truly a Deltan.
Sadder still is that he also apparently suffers jaundice, especially by his amnesia on the palliative regime by Governor Oborevwori to mitigate the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy on Deltans.
While the Federal Government distributed N5 billion to each state, Oborevwori’s government has committed double that amount, N10 billion, to provide for persons living with disabilities, widows, the aged and other economically vulnerable people.
That is outside his approval of N10,000 extra monthly pay for public servants and the reduction of their weekly working days on shift basis to reduce their cost of commuting to work.
Again, Oborevwori’s answer on public transportation goes beyond just acquiring buses as in Taraba State which Ezeagwu referred, but to a more enduring and sustainable approach which involves the introduction of electric vehicles and the production and conversion of Tricycles from petrol to Compressed Natural Gas engines which is cheaper, to drastically reduce operational cost.
Indeed, it is sad that persons like Ezeagwu who claim to be in our political leadership do not understand simple micro and macro socio-economic engineering.