Date Published: 01/05/11
"Uduaghan’s Achievements will Ensure His Return"
Godwin Akpobire, who runs the Delta State Integrated Development Project (DSIDP), spoke to Nduka Nwosu on why he thinks ousted Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan is on his way back to Government House Asaba
One of the major achievements of Dr Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan while in office was his agenda on peace and security in Delta State, which was globally hailed. Would you want to tell us why he made that his central theme of governance?
Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan was only trying to translate into concrete terms the Federal Government’s amnesty plan, which he tried to give practical application designed to transform and empower the restive youths of Niger Delta. Dousing the tension in Delta State was taken one step further when he embarked on the gigantic project of rebuilding the Gbaramatu Kingdom, Okeronkoko, Ogboroje and other communities, after the prolonged conflict between the Joint Task Force (JTF) and members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). It is not therefore an accident of history that Uduaghan’s intimidating profile in governance, and his road map for Delta State attracted critical commentary bordering on the type of preparedness associated with men and women on a missionary journey.
The Asagba of Asaba, Obi Professor Chike Edozien, who himself is a celebrated scholar of note, was so thrilled in the rapid transformation of the state capital- Asaba, that he could not hold back his encomiums when he noted that the Uduaghan administration had shown that if there was a will, development could come very quickly.
Also, Comrade Oronto Douglas, the globally acclaimed environmental crusader and Senior Policy Adviser for Strategy, Research and Documentation to President Goodluck Jonathan, gave a pass mark to the former governor on the level of development his administration was able to execute in his first term in office. Again, during his last visit to Delta State, President Goodluck Jonathan was impressed with the high level of development recorded by the Uduaghan administration, with particular emphasis on the Asaba International Airport, the Oghara Teaching Hospital and the Naval Logisitcs Base. It is as it were, an endless list of commendations for a man who approached governance from the viewpoint of making Delta State a home for all, where peace and security would attract rapid development.
Peace, security, the build up of human capital plus infrastructure development, remained the recurring mantra of the Uduaghan Administration. The uprisings that defined the activities of militant young men from the Delta in our recent past, proved in practicable and demonstrable terms that economic development cannot find a level playing field in the midst of turbulence. Thus a key issue the Uduaghan Administration confronted upon assumption of office was how to return peace to the land before fast tracking growth and development of the economy.
Can you briefly mention some of these achievements beginning with how the restive youths were kept out of trouble?
Uduaghan created jobs to keep young men and women away from restiveness employing a huge infrastructure outlay and an engaging educational policy. This obviously created a basis for a future generation that is both intellectually informed and knowledgeable enough to fast forward the state to 21 century ideals of the global village concept where a man in America will feel more comfortable doing business and residing in the Warri Industrial Park than in his native home in Texas.
Among the giant projects executed by the Uduaghan administration, road construction took a sizeable bite of the budgetary allocations. Prominent among these roads are the Asaba-Ughelli Road, and the Warri-Effurun Road under dualisation, with wider space being opened for the ever busy Warri Port, a main trading hub that feeds the famous Onitsha market. Also under dualisation is the commercially active federal government road- the Ugbeni-Koko Road, close to another port. This is just a tip of the iceberg as virtually the major business districts and local government areas have been turned into one huge construction site where engineers are even now designing and building infrastructure, empowering the people and creating employment.
With a vibrant ICT village, and policy package that makes every child of school age computer literate, a free education policy at primary and secondary school level, complemented by generous scholarship and bursary programme for tertiary institutional levels, the urbane medical doctor believes only an environment that is attractive and visually aesthetic can become a home that has global appeal for investors.
That also informed his huge investment in an urban environment that could compare favourably with any in the world. Also, Delta State is the only state in the country with a comprehensive plan for electricity generation of at least 3,200 mega watts before 2020 while the Uduaghan government also invested in transportation, where he said the impact of governance must be felt. Besides roads and seaports, transportation extends to the aviation sector where the already existing Osubi Airport in Warri will be upgraded and expanded to accommodate a bigger airspace of world class standard with a 3.8 kilometre runway while a modern international airport in Asaba was billed to be commissioned before the completion of the governor’s second term.
Don’t forget that among his many admirers is an eminent daughter of the state and former Minister of Finance, now managing director of the World Bank for Africa, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who said she was very happy with the state government’s initiative in constructing this kind of airport, which he described as an excellent business gateway to the eastern part of the country.
Other areas include healthcare delivery and poverty eradication strategy where over 40,000 homes benefiting from his micro-credit finance scheme and a vibrant sports policy; it was not surprising when Comrade Joseph Evah, co-ordinator, Ijaw Monitoring Group said the people of Delta were very lucky to have somebody like Governor Uduaghan, somebody from a minority tribe who understands that unity is important for development.
What is your reply to those who say there was no election in Delta State in 2007?
I was involved when His Excellency was running for election in 2007. We had a time table to go round the 25 local government areas of Delta State and we did go round. PDP was the only party that campaigned in the 25 local governments. If there were no elections in Delta state, how come there are elected members of the State House of Assembly, whose elections were held the same day as the governorship elections? I don’t know how many local government areas Great Ogboru’s DPP has established a visible structure for campaigns and election.
But that is not the issue today; the issue today is Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan and what he has done in three and half years. In three and a half years he has been able to put together a comprehensive plan for the development of Delta State, a plan that several successive governments would come and build on so that Delta State can be a better state to live in, a state where the quality of life of the people would have appreciated above the average.
What do you think are the chances of Uduaghan in the re-run election?
The PDP is the party to beat in Delta State. Both the party and the governor are household names in every ward and local government area of the state. This re-run election is going to be between PDP and DPP; having said that, I challenge anybody who is in DPP to show the Delta people what plan they have for them and what kind of presence they command in the state. This whole talk on Ogboru and DPP are only felt in newspaper advertorials.
When last was Ogboru and his party in the state to acquaint themselves with those they want to govern? Most of what is going in the DPP are newspaper advertisements and Lagos conferences and it’s allowed. But for a man in the village who sees what is going on with DESOPADEC projects for example, who sees what the governor has done, the man in the hut, that’s where the PDP presence is, that’s where the governor’s presence is and let it not be that we will now resort to newspaper adverts to win elections.
How are you handling the stiff and uncompromising opposition from Chief E.K. Clark, and the ethnic factor that deals with the majority
First one, E.K. Clark is a respected elder of Delta State and I don’t think that both the governor and anybody in Delta State will treat him in any way without respect. Elders often hold a dogmatic view about certain things and some times that dogmatic view can cause a lot of discomfort between them and their children.
courtesy Thisday
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