Okowa betrayed Southern cause to get presidency – Omo-Agege

.Says Delta gov accepted meager VP position when Nigerians offered region president

.Accuses him of using state money to fund Atiku/Okowa Campaign

.’Deltans prepared to punish Okowa for treachery against region’

By Ukpono Ukpong

The Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, has accused the Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa of betraying the cause of the South to ensure that the next President emerges from the region.

Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Omo-Agege said that Deltans are prepared to punish Okowa for the treacherous act against the people of the region.

“The state is in serious despair. The people are very angry and they are in a hurry to kick out this government. And on top of that, there’s also this issue of equity. We are we are very gentle people. Our word is our bond in Delta State. We are equitable, and we fight for equity for all.

“It is the position of Deltans and most especially, indeed or the entire southern Nigeria, that given the fact that we have supported President Muhammadu Buhari, Presidency for the past eight years. It’s only fair, just and equitable that the next President should come from southern Nigeria. And it may also interest you that Okowa as the chairman of the governors forum in South South was one of those who led this charge, and met in Asaba, where the case was made, and the position was taken, and a communique was signed to the effect that at the expiration of the tenure of Mr. President from northern Nigeria, the next president must come from the south.

“That position of the governors was equally supported by Mr. President himself. President Muhammadu Buhari supported the same position. And then we’re also lucky to have had the support of the governors of northern Nigeria most especially of the APC’s extraction, I believe about 16 or 17 of them all came together and approved the same position taken by the governors of southern Nigeria.

“So, to the chagrin and disappointment of many at home, Okowa has betrayed that course by selling away our right to the presidency, and instead going for a meager office of a Vice President at a time when the entire country is offering us the presidency. So, our people are not taking this treachery kindly and they have determined that they will punish Okowa” he said.

According to the Deputy Senate President, Okowa’s betrayal of the Southern cause for Presidency and his misgovernance and lack of performance on the part of not just Okowa but the PDP led administration in the past 14 years, as some of the reasons why the people of Delta have made up their minds to reject Okowa and the ruling part in the state in the forthcoming elections.

“The message we’re saying to people is resonating, we’ve been able to make the case to them, that Delta State is supposedly a very rich state given the contributions that we’ve made, not only to the economy of this country, but also to the economy of the state, because of the receipts we have gotten from federal allocation, inclusive of a 13% derivation and other resources that come to the state by way of IGR.

“By our own reckoning, since the Okowa administration came into being, Delta State has received close to about 4.2 trillion naira. And this came like I said, by way of federal allocation, it came by way of13% derivation, and also about 400 billion naira that the state has borrowed.

“Only recently, thanks to my brother, the governor of Rivers state, who also made us to understand that another 260 billion naira was given to our state (on account of shortfall payment). So if you look at that, that will be a total of 4.2 trillion Naira that has come to the state.

“There’s nothing on ground by way of infrastructural development that is commensurate with all of these receipts that come to the state.

“The people are in despair. We have civil servants who gave the best part of their years in the service of the state and upon retirement, are still being owed gratuities, for the most part pensions. Some owed 6, 7, 8 and 9 years and they have not been paid, for a state that is that rich?

“We have as you all know, the minimum wage which has been approved for the entire country. In Delta State not withstanding our receipts Delta is one of the very few states that is not paying minimum wage, when you have states even up North that receive close to about a quarter, in most cases even less of the allocations coming to Delta State paying minimum wage.

“The health sector is in a state of decay, same to the educational sector. Before Okowa became governor we had tuition and other fees in Delta State tertiary institutions going for about 17,000 Naira per year, but today, right now is close about 470,000 Naira per student. Now, these are children of Deltans, who have not been paid the minimum wage. These are children of retirees who have not being paid their pensions, but yet are supposed to fuck up some money, additional increases to pay this tuition for their children.

“If you go to Delta State today, there is no homestead where you will not meet a child who has gone to school, well educated, graduated 6,7,8,9 years ago, who is unemployed. This unemployment challenge knows, no party boundaries, knows no language boundaries, no religious boundaries, unemployment is unemployment.

“Our people at home, all they seek is an opportunity to hold a daytime job, to be able to take care of their families. So, we’re making this a priority through that plank of our manifesto, which is employment and the employment of our people.

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“In the past, we’ve had so many companies in the state that, when the economy was booming, gave employment opportunities to our people, but most of these companies, for one reason or the other, but for the most part, citing security concerns, have moved away from the state to other states, where they are contributing so much to the IGR and other revenue sources of those states.

“I believe we can do better, we’re a rich state, we have enough resources. If the bulk of the money that the current governor devoted to the funding of the Atiku/Okowa Campaign for President, if even ordinary 1/10 of that money is devoted to addressing this infrastructure decay in Delta, the state will be better.”

Amo-Agege said that his manifesto hopes to address the issue of infrastructural decay and insecurity in the state.

“If you go to Delta State today, there is no road, no single road that is a new road that was constructed by Okowa as a governor. The last set of roads that we have in Delta State were constructed by a Governor Ibori. Since that time not a single new road, either by Governor Uduagan or by Governor Okowa. All he’s been doing is doing patches using mushroom companies to do patches, or remedial work on some of these roads which after three, four months, they get washed away by by the rains.

“So, we were determined to arrest this infrastructural decay by making this a priority in the next government, which were provided for in our manifesto. But most importantly, the issue of enduring peace and security which is another plan and the manifesto is what we intend to focus on” he said.