Date Published: 08/31/10
Delta 2011: Omo-Agege, the bridge builder
By Isaac Muboro
Obarisi Barrister Ovie Omo –Agege is a man of many parts. A lawyer by training, he is also a politician of note from Delta State . He has served at the top echelon of Government by the virtue of his appointments at different times as Executive Assistant (EA), Civil Commissioner and Secretary to the state government (SSG). At the moment, he wants to serve the people of Delta State at the highest level. He wants to be governor of the state via the forthcoming general elections on the platform of his party, the People Democratic Party (PDP). Having operated at the various levels in the public and private sectors in the course of which he impacted positively on the lives of the people, one would concede the right to him to seek to be governor so that he can use the opportunity of being at the highest level of government to dispense the much talked about democracy dividends. His credentials are impeccable and tell the story of a man full of passion to uplift the people.
Omo-Agege’s sound educational background and training actually prepared him for the current task. After graduating from University of Benin , UNIBEN, in 1985 with a law degree B.L (Hons), he was admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 1986. His educational accomplishments did not stop there. In 2002, he was at Tulane University Law School , New Orleans , Lousiana , United states where he bagged a master’s of laws (LL.M) degree in corporate and commercial law with distinction. Omo-Agege has been a member of the state bar of California, United States District Court (Central District of California), and United States Supreme Court, Washington D.C. since 1992. His wide experience in law practice has seen him practicing both in Nigeria and the United States . His foray into politics has been quite eventful just like his educational pursuits. In January 2005, he was appointed into Delta State cabinet as commissioner for special duties and subsequently became SSG IN January 2007.
His dream to govern the State runs deep. The first foray was in 2006 when he vied for the Delta gubernatorial ticket of the PDP ahead of the 2007 general elections. He was coasting home to victory until two days before the party primaries when some abracadra happened. But that was not enough to dampen his spirit or make him abandon his aspiration. Omo-Agege kept his political structure intact in the belief that when the state is due to elect another governor, his hat will be right there in the ring. And there are many reasons for his hat to be in the Delta 2011 gubernatorial ring. In the first instance, it is the fulfillment of a personal ambition to serve the people. Yet, in the last three years, going to four , there is, according to him, really nothing to cheer about as far as governance in the state is concerned. To say the least, what has happened in Delta is that service delivery actually took flight.
Said Omo-Agege in a recent interview: “When we worked to elect the incumbent, Deltans were full of expectations in terms of service delivery. Today, People are asking given the enormous resources that has accrued to the state in the last three years and half, most especially the N650 billion the state received, have we received the development that is commensurate with this amount? And the answer to the majority of Deltans is a resounding no”. The near absence of governance in the state is what is primarily fueling his quest to acquire power this time around and use it for the betterment of his people.
Using the recent visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to Delta state to explain his position that the government in Asaba could have done better, Omo-Agege affirmed that “Just about a month ago, the President, Goodluck Jonathan, was in Delta State to commission projects. If you notice, in most states he visited earlier, he spent two days or a day. In Delta State , he managed to stay for a few hours. There is reason for that; we only had two projects to commission. “And what were these projects: the specialist hospital in Oghara and the Naval barracks in Oghara. These are the only two projects the governor deemed fit to put forward to be commissioned in three years. “And the two projects are those projects commenced and completed by former Governor Ibori. So what happened to the N650 billion allocation from the federation account and the internally generated revenue that has come to the state? “To the extent that Omo-Agege claims Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has not performed, he says incumbency factor in a country where it is a potent tool in elections cannot be an obstacle to his bid to be Delta governor next year. His words: “There are incumbents and there are incumbents. You have to take a lot of factors into consideration. Factors such as the circumstance of his emergence, poor or lack of performance completely obliterates any advantages that ought to go with incumbency.
So, how prepared is Omo-Agege for the office of governor? Does he have the blueprint to transform Delta or his case is going to be like others who came into office so unprepared or because some forces merely wanted them to be in power for selfish reason? The answer from the horse’s mouth: “In my appearances at rallies, I have made clear our programmes for the people. “It is not enough to identify fault in people; you must also present your solution. I come to the contest believing that Delta State is immensely blessed, in term of resources, human and financial. I believe with so much coming to the state, we ought to have a lot more to show. And therefore I am going to anchor this race on the promise to deliver democracy dividends to our people and this is going to be predicated on five cardinal programmes which I have christened FIVE STEPS TO PROSPERITY. My belief is that with so much coming to Delta State coffers, we ought to provide solid medical services for ALL Deltans.
“Now, some people would say how can you pay for these promises? We have done our research; there is enough to money to meet these bills. The only thing that Delta State provides now is free maternal services and medical services to children aged 0-5 years and aged from 70years and above. So what happens to the remaining citizens when they take ill?, are they not Deltans? Are you telling them to go to hell?
“There is so much coming in excluding IGR. If you look through the budget, it is a matter of priority, I have given you example a while ago, N4 billion was budgeted for gifts and entertainment and N60 million for State Primary Education Board (SPEB). I personally believe that there are many projects that we can re-prioritize. Again, this is a matter of priority; do we see free education as priority? To us yes, but to this administration, apparently not. We can move the N4billion earmarked for gifts and entertainment, to fund free and functional education. I intend to set up two model schools in every local government. If you check that it comes to about N5 billion, and if you just move this N4 billion from entertainment to education, you just need some amount to balance it”.
Speaking further, the aspirant said “We will also give the riverine areas priority. We will enhance the packages of the teachers who will teach in the riverine communities. We will construct staff quarters for them. We will also give them well equipped hospitals with decent accommodation for the doctors. Infrastructure will also be given a priority. We believed that government should be concerned with bigger projects that will impact the lives of greater number of people. In Delta North Senatorial District, we intend to dam the Ubu River at Owashi-Uku, and that will cost us about N5 billion. “Asaba is the state capital. For those of you who have been there, it is a traffic nightmare on the only road in the town which is “Nnebisi. Our plan when we get there, we will dualise this road with proper drainages and street lights. we will vote N30 billion for urban renewal in Asaba. We also intend to tackle the drainage problem in Warri and Effurun because if you enter Warri during the rainy season, you will be surprised, the place is waterlogged”
The issue of security will also get a proper attention when Ovie becomes the governor of Delta state. Proffering solution to the security issue, the grassroots politician averred that kidnapping for instance started from Delta State but the eastern states are now worse, hence, the politician disclosed that “ as panacea to the ugly development” we will set up community neighbourhood watch made up of able bodied men that would be screened and given light arms under the supervision of the Nigerian police. We will set that up across the state and fund it in conjunction with the Nigeria Police and I think that would address in a major way the issue of security of lives and property. I’m not in the race just because I want the other guy removed; I’m in the race to effect positive change based on my better ideas to govern Delta State ”.
The programmes as enunciated by Omo-Agege are enough to excite a people yearning for good governance. His sincerity to take Delta to the next level must be the very reason the people are giving all they can to support his aspiration.
A detribalized politician in a society with diverse peoples, he is a bridge builder across the ethnic nationalities in the state. Beyond Delta Central where Omo-Agege hails from, feelers from the two other senatorial zones of the state North and South show that he is the man to beat in the race for the Asaba Government House |
