Governor Okowa’s SMART Agenda on Course – Aniagwu

The Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Delta State Governor, Mr. Charles Ehiedu Aniagwu, has reassured Deltans that the administration of Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa is committed to delivering the total package of SMART Agenda promise to the later.

He made this statement during an interactive session with members of the Indigenous Newspapers/Magazine Chapel (INMC) of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Delta State Council in Asaba on Monday.

Aniagwu stressed that Governor Okowa is not too disturbed by 2019 re-election but genuinely focused on how to deliver the promises he made to Deltans during his 2015 electioneering campaign.

“What disturbs us now is for us to have the funds to deliver on the promises we made in the course of the 2015 electioneering campaign. Perhaps I will not call it disturbance, I will prefer to call it challenge. What we are concerned about is how we will be able to address those many promises we made and to the best of my knowledge and by the grace of God, my boss Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa is as much as possible given the available resources delivering on the 5-Point Agenda”.

On the issue of civil service employment, Mr. Aniagwu queried newsmen for mounting pressures on the state government, stressing that there are no vacancies and it does not show any form of development at this time.

Chief Press Secretary, Charles Aniagwu, speaking at Indigenous Newspaper/Magazines Chapel, Asaba. (Pix: Pat Ochei)

“Trying to pressurize government to employ people when vacancies don’t exist does not bring about development. What bring development, is as much as possible creating the enabling environment. And that we are trying to do by providing roads that link up some communities so that those who are into certain forms of production will have access to the reasonable market. Being able to empower our brothers and sisters who have got talents to be able to move to the next level, because when we do that they will be able to employ more people and when they employ more people, it means that government has created more jobs”.

“We have been able to provide a number of jobs. But the jobs we are providing is not just the one you need to write application and begin to earn salary”, stressing that the jobs the state government is providing are to make those engaged in them employers of labour, “creating entrepreneurs who are on their own able to also employ a lot of persons”, the CPS added.

The CPS lauded Governor Okowa’s prudence and practical management of the resources of the state, which has led to huge success of projects evenly executed across the state within two years of his administration “it is happening at a time when the resources at the disposal of different government is at its lowest ebb”.

In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the Indigenous Newspapers/Magazines Chapel, Comrade Barth Ineh Ozah commended Mr. Aniagwu for his numerous assistance to the chapel and warm relationship with journalists in the state.

The session which took place at the Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa conference hall in the Chapel’s Secretariat, witnessed a large turnout of members and associates of the Indigenous Chapel.

Also present at the event were Media Aides to Governor Okowa; Jonathan Onwuka, Prince Victor Efeizomor and Amaechi Udemba, who were in the entourage of the Chief Press Secretary.