By VERONICA OGBUAGU

Delta State is bleeding profusely and the level of socio-economic haemorrhage is extremely huge to the extent that every facet of our state as a sub-national is gasping for air. You don’t really need to rack your brain in order to decipher why our beloved Delta State is in a precarious state. All you need do is to recall the profound quote by the erudite management sage, John C. Maxwell when he said; “Everything raises and falls on leadership”.

We have been very unfortunate to have a government in the state for the past seven years that has been principally driven by the vision of self-enrichment and the near-total neglect of the vast majority of Deltans. The indicators of bad governance in Delta State are staring at us all. From the embarrassingly horrible level of infrastructure to weak health care. And from the collapsing educational system to the alarming rate of unemployment, amongst others, the feeling of bad governance has caught up with everyone in Delta State. How do one explain the very painful reality that patients in a lot of public hospitals in Delta State now contribute money to buy fuel in order to power generators in many public hospitals? How do we explain that the tuition fees in Delta State University is now between one hundred and eighty thousand naira (N180,000) to around two hundred and fifty thousand naira (N250,000)? How many civil servants in Delta State can afford to send their children to the state university without resorting to being involved in corrupt practices? In a similar vein, I often find myself chuckling each time I hear people refer to Governor Okowa as “The Road Master”. I always ask myself if such people were referring to the Delta State on planet earth or whether there is another Delta State in other planets like Jupiter or Mars. Furthermore, pensioners across Delta State who have committed about 35 years of the productive part of their lives to serve Delta State, demonstrated only recently and demanded that Governor Okowa should pay them their pensions which have been pending for years. What can be more inhuman than that? Indeed, a lot of Deltans can now vividly see the wickedness that governance has become in Delta State.

If you think that Governor Okowa hasn’t done enough damage to Delta State, then it simply means you have not been paying close attention to recent events in the political arena in Delta State. You don’t need to be a Professor of Politics or a political soothsayer to know that Governor Okowa and his team appears to have a vision to completely annihilate Delta State. This explains why he seems desperate to foist on Deltans a candidate that will continue from where he will eventually stop come 2023. Tragically, as if that is not bad enough, his preferred candidate has told us to “expect more and that he is going to continue from where Okowa stops”. He has also said that “what he has going for him is not his academic qualifications.” By inference, he has said that he doesn’t need to be an educated person with good and eligible educational credentials to become the Governor of Delta State in the 21st century! Are these not signs that the current governor and his preferred candidate do not care about the future of Delta State? If your answer to this rhetorical question is in the affirmative, then you are a patriotic Deltan. It also means that you care about the future of Delta State.

There is no better way to show that you care about the future of Delta State than actively participating in choosing the governor who will serve the best interest of Deltans and promote good government. Delta State needs to be emancipated. It is on this note that I enthusiastically recommend, the Most Pro-masses Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, the Deputy President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for Governor of Delta State come 2023.

Why Senator Ovie Omo-Agege you may ask? I am keenly interested having Senator Ovie Omo-Agege as our next governor (you should too) not because of emotional or “Stomach Infrastructure” reasons but on account of the glaring fact he has demonstrated beyond measure that he is committed to the well-being of his people. He has shown that he has a burning passion for socio-economic development of Delta State and the creation of indelible legacies. With a track record of unparalleled legislative achievements, the Senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District has shown that uncommon feats can be accomplished through effective and people-oriented leadership.

As a Senator without executive powers, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege successfully attracted numerous projects to Delta State like the Federal Polytecnic at Orogun and the elite Nigerian Defence Space School. He also undertook the very resourceful power programme with the aim of ameliorating the problems associated with electricity distribution by installing brand new transformers and replacing obsolete ones in different parts of the state. He also aggressively embarked on mass provision of solar street lights across numerous villages and towns of Delta Central Senatorial Districts. He also focused his passion on deepening educational development by executing remarkable educational and ICT infrastructure in schools like the construction of blocks of new and renovated classrooms, modern ICT facilities, provision of desks and computers to facilitate learning in the different schools across the state. He has built primary health care centers and provided medical equipment in public hospitals. He has constructed various water schemes. He has facilitated different empowerment schemes and programmes for women, youths and the vulnetables. There are many more things he has done to show his obsession with making life better for his Senatorial District.

With Senator Ovie Omo-Agege as Governor of Delta State come 2023, our EMANCIPATION is guaranteed. (New Diplomat)

•Dr (Mrs) Veronica Ogbuagu, a former commissioner for Education in Delta State and currently the Chairman, Governing Council, Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, wrote from Delta State.

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