By JOHNSON EBIGIDE
On Friday, December 16, 2022, something awesome took place in the main office of the governor of Delta State, Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa, in the Government House in Asaba.
The news had earlier been whispered that the governor had appointed two more as his special advisers.
Who were they !? The people wondered. And it was even more suspense laden with the urgency to swear them in with the speed of the lightening !
Another angle to it was that the state governor was to sign the 2023 appropriation bill of the state to law same day, an index that good things await not only the appointees, but the entire state in 2023.
When later it was announced that Eugene Azuka Uzum Esq was to be sworn in as the Special Adviser to the governor on Orientation, the people gathering in the Government House erupted in spontaneous jubilation for the appointee and the governor for recognising hardwork, commitment, loyalty and passion for service delivery.
Yes, Uzum has demonstrated high level commitment to reordering the society for the better through mental reorientation of the people, particularly the youths. Thank God his unwavering passion and commitment to duty has not gone unnoticed.
Yes, hardwork pays. Uzum’s experience attests to that. He was appointed Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Orientation at the inception of the Okowa Administration in 2015, but elevated almost immediately as the Executive Assistant on Orientation in charge of a new Directorate of Orientation in the state. Again, when Governor Okowa secured his second tenure, he did not blink his eyes before appointing Uzum as the Director General of yet another brand new Orientation Bureau in the state.
Like a chick that would grow into a full blown cock the very day it was hatched, Uzum has shown exemplary character, deserving of a leader. A consummate administrator and astute manager of situations that could overwhelm the fickle minded, Uzum has not only curbed cultism, drug abuse and other negative vices, including vandalisation of public Infrastructure and environmental degredation in the state, he has contributed immensely in other ways in making governance seamless in Delta State.
Speaking to newsmen briefly after his swearing-in in the Government House, Uzum thanked the state governor for elevating him to his present political status in the state, adding that his new appointment called for greater committment, dedication and efficient service delivery, towards the actualiation of the Stronger Delta vision of the Okowa Administration in the state.
He called on Nigerians, particularly Deltans, to rescue Nigeria from its present chequered situation by voting massively for the Atiku-Okowa ticket, saying that it was self evident that the All Progressive Congress (APC) had failed Nigerians.
Uzum condemned the negative attitudinal imbalance among youths, including Yahoo syndicates, cultism, drug abuse, kidnapping and immorality, and vowed to continue to drum on the danger inherent in such negative vices in the state.
With his new elevation after working so hard without cutting corners to arrive at where he is now, it is expected that the youths should see Uzum as a role model and follow his steady, but sure steps to greatness.