DELTA STATE: MAINTAINING THE PACE OF GOOD GOVERNANCE


“Delta is blessed”, said Napoleon Eluechie, a widely travelled Anambra State indigene who resides in Lagos. The lawyer who is a notable critic of government noted, “Your people are very discerning to have elected Senator Ifeanyi Okowa”.

But Eluechie is not alone in this conclusion. He is certainly echoing the views of a broad spectrum of people who have analyzed the person of Senator Ifeanyi Okowa. He lauded the people for their foresight in electing the man that has come to be known as Ekwueme.

From the get go, Senator Okowa has shown that he is on a mission and that he would be judged by the quality of service he delivers to the people and how same has improved their lot. He also understands the enormous task before him even in the face of dwindling finances. But he is undaunted. As an experienced politician, he is at home with such challenges and knows how to navigate such thorny waters.

In the last one month, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has kept the engine of governance roaring to the delight of those who appreciate committed public service. Armed with a manual of his campaign promise, which is titled the SMART Agenda, he is ready to add even more items to it.

During campaigns, Senator Okowa told the people of Delta State that the thrust of his administration would be prosperity to all Deltans. As a government that intends to work the talk, his policies are raring in the area of realization of this all important goal.

This he has done with the launch of the wealth creation programme, which took off with the launch of six entrepreneurship schemes namely; Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurs Programme (YAGEP), Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP); Production and Processing Support Programme (PPSP); Tractorisation; Extension of Loans; and Development of Agro-industries.

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s early pace clearly illustrate a man who came into government prepared. It is obvious that he is not in government just for the sake of power but to identify ways of how power can be translated for the benefit of the people of the State and mankind in general. But those who indulged in practiced cynicism have chosen to remain blind to these steady strides of hope and bright prospects. Let us reinvent our sense of community in acknowledgement that a Delta that suffers arrested development on account of political bickering would be our Delta of arrested prosperity.

Comments