Delta APC Chieftain Raps Okowa for Squandering Paris Club Fund

By Miracle Enuji

An All Progressive Congress (APC) chieftain in Delta State, Mr. Emmanuel Ogwuda has taken a swipe on the Okowa administration and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for leading the State backwards into the dark times of the 20th century and treating Deltans like fools for the past 18years.

The eloquent APC faithful and businessman who made this submission during a chat with journalists on the occasion of 26th anniversary of the creation of Delta state noted that since the return of democratic rule in Nigeria in 1999, the government structure of the PDP in the state has been structured to cheat and shortchange Deltans of good governance. In his words, “all we need to do is to kick them out and allow another platform to do their best. PDP is bereft of ideas, they are confused at this moment.”

On the level of financial misappropriation by Governor Okowa, Ogwuda said, “we got Paris Refund, Okowa government had in 2016 prepared a budget proposal for 2017 which was sent to the House of Assembly. In that budget proposal, the salaries of the workers, the teachers and others were all included. He told the House of Assembly this is what my budget is and that I can source for these funds to be able to run the budget which the House approved for him and he assented that into law. Why then using the windfall to pay salary? For how long can we continue to fool ourselves? Can we keep on being silent on windfall?”

“The Fiscal policy thrust of the state is a disaster, you can’t tell me that you have 65,000 people in the state taking 80% of our resources for salaries and emoluments as against over 3,000,000 people and you’re giving it out to Deltans as a reason why you cannot develop our state. We run a budget and our recurrent expenditure goes well above our capital expenditure and the Governor is telling us that he is doing well, is that governance?” the APC chieftain queried.

Ogwuda who equally expressed worries over the rapid loss of interest of Deltans in what happens in Government, attributed it to the prevailing corrupt leadership style of PDP and called on Deltans to stand up in opposition to the present Government.

In his words, “A good percentage of Deltans are no longer interested in what is happening in our government. They don’t care what happens even in the local government. It is the reality on ground because if there is an election tomorrow, the average Deltan will sit back at home and say well, what is the point of me going to vote, they will write the result the usual way they do, that is a fact.

So 80 percent of Deltans do not vote, that is why a state of over 3 million people, produce less than Five Hundred Thousand votes in a gubernatorial election. It is something that calls for concern.”

He added that, “the people that are opposing the government in power are supposed to be the civil populace that elected the present government into power. Those are the people promises were made to, not just few people that gather themselves into political platforms.

“It is more glaring in Delta State where nobody ask politicians any question based on their promises, they don’t hold them accountable. Until our people start participating in electing whoever that governs them, we will not go forward.”

Ogwuda further decried the pitiable condition of the state capital averring that Asaba is the least developed State Capital in Nigeria. “Asaba does not have a State funded World Class Medical Facility and that is because we denied ourselves of electing credible leadership for our people. It does not only rest with the opposition party, it rests with the citizens of Delta State. The real opposition in Delta rest with Deltans. The entire populace must hold the government accountable. The way forward is for Deltans to take the first line option by APC of getting PDP out of Government come 2019″.