By Dr. Ifeanyi M. Osuoza.
There is widespread excitement among the people of Delta State right now. The excitement has enveloped a good majority of the people in anticipation of what is really people’s moment come 2023. One man who has become a phenomenon is behind this exciting wind of anticipation. That man, the man of the moment and perhaps for all times, is Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, present speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly and the Delta State Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigeria’s longest-surviving and most resilient political party ever, Africa’s largest political party and most pro-people organization.
Rt. Hon. Oborevwori did not emerge by happenstance. He has been on the political scene and undergone tutelage under three Governors in Delta State. He also has the rare privilege of legislative and executive experience and has over the years seen politics as a tool for constructively reshaping humanity and making life better for the people. This vision has not only evolved, but has become concrete as seen in his emergence as the PDP Governorship candidate of Delta State at a free and fair primary election.
Evolving with this man of destiny is the concept known as Sheriffication which has become an ideology and a movement in Delta State. Anywhere, everywhere and wherever you turn the agreement among the people, young and old, men and women is that Delta State has been Sheriffied. To be Sheriffied is to believe and embrace the idea of Sheriff Oborevwori becoming Governor of Delta State in 2023 and the concept is Sheriffication.
While the majority of Deltans hailed Oborevwori’s entry into the Governorship race with excitement, a small clique was displeased with what they considered Oborevwori’s near underprivileged background. This clique tried to discredit Oborevwori. They cast aspersions on him and questioned his academic achievements.
There were litigations intended to undo him and thwart the wish of the people for him to become their Governor. Good enough the litigations failed and the people’s desire to have Oborevwori as their Governor is gathering momentum. In a few months from now, the people will affirm him as the Governor of Delta State through the ballot. They will witness and celebrate his swearing-in and inauguration as Governor in May 2023.
The emergence of Oborevwori has a populist push to it. He came from among the people in every sense of the word. While some say that he came from the streets, they forget to see the streets as representing the true and real essence of the people. The street is where the people are and democracy is about the people.
The streets see Oborevwori as their own and he is very high on street credibility. He was born among the people, he grew up among them, lives with them and he knows their ways, their problems, their hopes, and aspirations. In him are the strategies with which to free the people from want, lack and set them on a pedestal for the new deal he is bringing to the table. Oborevwori is undoubtedly the ideal people’s politician and leader. His populist ideas and goals are unquestionably remarkable and unsurpassable.
The new deal Oborevwori is offering to Deltans is embodied in his manifesto aptly titled M.O.R.E. The acronym is symbolic because it recognizes that so much has been done in Delta State, but he is set to do MORE and take the State and people to the frontiers of the emergent New World order. The driving indices of MORE are Meaningful development, Opportunities for all, Realistic reforms, and Enhanced peace and security. Reading and evaluating the MORE agenda will reveal that Oborevwori has a deep understanding of what the development aspirations of Delta State are. Every Nation, every State is a work in progress always confronted by problems which right-thinking leaders who bear the burden of their people, like Oborevwori now does, are always desirous of remedying. The manifesto depicts Oborevwori as highly pro-people. MORE is the people’s agenda and in it, Oborevwori enunciates a new deal that will turn the State around for good.
The MORE agenda seeks to reposition Delta State and her people by engaging the core indices of modern development. Such indices under Meaningful development include education, energy, healthcare, physical infrastructure such as roads, transportation, housing, and new cities, rural development, urban regeneration, etc. The foci under Opportunities for all are employment and wealth creation, agricultural productivity, industrialization, ICT, sports, and creative enterprise. Realistic reforms will harness policies and programmes of Government for the good of the people, while peace and security will create an enabling environment for investment and social co-existence for all Deltans and other Nigerians and foreigners. Oborevwori deliberately deemphasizes the reliance on crude oil in articulating his development agenda. His dream of greatness and rebirth for Delta rests on her human capital and agricultural resources which are to be galvanized by education, energy, ICT, and industrialization.
Rt. Hon. Oborevwori, despite the tendency for political opponents to undermine his educational attainments, holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science Degrees in Political Science from two of Nigeria’s prestigious Universities. Thus Oborevwori is well-grounded in the theory and practice of politics. Besides his towering educational attainments, Oborevwori has also undergone political leadership and managerial trainings in some of the best educational institutions in the world to reinforce his hands-on engagement in practical politics.
The truth is that all of those who undermine Oborevwori lack his capacity in every imaginable parameter. Among the qualification and experience reinforcing his competence and capacity are: Certificate in Top Executive Leadership Programme, Manchester Business School, United Kingdom; Certificate in Legislative Framework for Budget Management, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, United States of America; Certificate in Legislative Management and Leadership, International Law Institute, Washington DC, United States of America; Certificate in Leading Inclusive Development, London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom; Certificate in Advanced Leadership Programme, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom; among others.
It is doubtful if any other Nigerian politician has such a formidable attainment in the acquisition of knowledge of modern governance. This is the cumulative knowledge and experience that proposed the new deal for Delta State and her people. The new deal is in MORE as envisioned and articulated by Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori.
© Dr. Ifeanyi M. Osuoza is the Deputy Director of, the Media and Publicity Committee, Delta State PDP Campaign Council.
Failed Promises: You should apologise to Nigerians not campaigning, Aniagwu tells Tinubu
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Spokesman, Mr Charles Aniagwu says the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Tinubu should not be campaigning rather be apologising to Nigerians for the hardship meted on the people by his party since 2015.
Aniagwu who stated this while addressing journalists on Monday in Asaba said that rather than apologise profusely for the failure of his party in the last seven and half years.
He said the APC had plunged over 133 million Nigerians into abject poverty despite their promise to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.
According to him they APC made several promises to Nigerians in 2015 which they failed to fulfil including reducing the pump price of PMS to N65 but today it is selling for N250.
“A bag of rice was selling for N7500 when they came in 2015 today it is hovering around N50,000 per bag.
“Instead of him to go round and apologise for his failed promises he is coming round to make another fake promises to Nigerians.
“If the Buhari administration which he helped midwifed was working why didn’t they fulfill all the promises they made in 2015.
“Instead of reducing the unemployment in the country their administration has thrown over 133 million Nigerians into deeper poverty.
“Rather than apologising for their abysmal failure they are going round to tell lies again to the people with fake promises,” he said.
Aniagwu who is also Delta State Commissioner for Information, said that the All Progressives Congress APC Governorship candidate Senator Ovie Omo-Agege was unaware of happenings in Delta.
He said that the Okowa administration has constructed over 883 Road projects spanning 1,932km with over 1,000 line drainages, including storm drainages in Asaba and Warri in the last seven and half years.
“Starting from the creeks where Tinubu and Omo-Agege claimed nothing was being done and we won’t blame them because they are ignorant of happenings in the state.
“We have done internal roads in Burutu, Okerenkoko, Benikrukru, 20.4 Km Obotobo 1 and 2, Yokri, Sokebolou roads, Ogulaha – Youbebe Road, Isama, Kpakiama, Ogbebene, Oviri-Olomu-Egodor and Kombowei Road in Patani among others.
“In the urban areas the Ughelli-Asaba road, Okpanam Bye pass, Cable road, Okpanam Road, Mariam Babangida, DLA as well as Orogun township roads where Omo-Agege hails from.
“Beyond Road construction we have embarked on the construction of 22 bridges with 7 completed among which is the Ovwor – Effurun-Otor Otor Bridge, Oha-Orerokpe Road Agbarho-Orherhe Road and Bridge, Kwale-Beneku ongoing, Trans Warri Road and bridges, Koka Interchange and Flyover and the Ayakoromo bridge among others,” he stated.
On job creation in the state, Aniagwu said the state government under its youth empowerment programmes had empowered 13,510 youths with 222,000 persons benefiting directly and over 1.3 million people benefiting indirectly.
Aniagwu further listed other landmark projects of the Okowa led administration to include the Stephen Keshi Stadium at Asaba, Ozoro University Stadium, the ultra modern State Secretariat, Traditional Rulers Secretariat, Ogheye Floating Market, among others.
On successes recorded in the health sector, the Presidential spokesman said over 1.1 million Deltans have been enrolled into the state’s Contributory Health Commission, adding that the Asaba Specialist Hospital, Advanced Diagnostic Centre and Mother and Child Hospital in Owa-Alero and Ekpan were some of the achievements of the state government under the health sector.
He said the Okowa administration also recorded impressive performances in the revamping of 6 existing technical Colleges and the construction of additional 9 new ones with the establishment of 45 new Secondary 17 new primary schools across the state, construction of 8,617 class room blocks and the establishment of the Teachers’ Professional Development Centre at Owa-Oyibu.
13% Derivation: Okowa’s govt transparent, accountable
Delta Government on Monday debunked media reports credited to a governor of a South South state that it had collected refunds from the Federal Government without disclosing it to citizens, saying it had remained committed to transparency and accountability in all its financial dealings on behalf of the people.
The Commissioner for Finance, Chief Fidelis Tilije, made this known at a news conference in Asaba, while addressing the issues of 13 per cent derivation arrears payment to oil-producing states raised by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers at the weekend.
Tilije, who was in company with Commissioner for Special Projects, Chief Henry Sakpra and the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Olisa Ifeajika, said contrary to the “revelation’’ by Wike, Delta had only received N14.7 billion in three quarterly installments of N4.9 billion each.
According to him, the total amount due to the State from the 13 per cent derivation arrears is N240bn out of which the Federal Government agreed to pay in quarterly installment for a period of five years.
“With the agreed amounts settled, some states like Rivers approached commercial banks and discounted theirs in full and collected, but Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa said he would not want to leave the next administration with a huge debt burden.
“He resorted to discounting only N150 billion out of the N240 billion expected receivables but later pruned it down to N100 billion.
“So far, we have got N14.7 billion in three quarterly installments and we have also accessed N30 billion out of the N100 billion we applied for as bridging finance,” he explained.
The commissioner stated that contrary to the impression given by Wike that previous administrations in the country refused to pay the money to the oil-producing states, the discovery of the outstanding funds was made by current commissioners for finance in the Niger Delta states.
“The present Commissioners for Finance of the nine Niger Delta states looked into the books of the NNPC and discovered that 13 per cent derivation was not deducted from subsidy payments and investments in priority projects by the Corporation.
“We took the matter before the FAAC and National Economic Council and got them to approve the payment in arrears to the affected oil-producing states.
“It is important to state that this was only discovered under the Buhari administration, which he subsequently approved. It is not that previous PDP administrations refused to pay. It was never discovered then neither was it brought to their notice,” he said.
Tilije also denied claims by former Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, that the state government received over N60 billion on refunds for federal roads projects executed by the state.
2023: Okowa to Omo-Agege, Deltans won’t fall for your cheap lies
Delta Governor, Sen. (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa, on Monday said the people of the state were too enlightened and exposed to fall for the cheap lies and propaganda being deployed by the Governorship Candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege.
Speaking at a news conference in Asaba, Chief Press Secretary to Governor, Mr Olisa Ifeajika, said that rather than avail Deltans with his manifesto, Omo-Agege had engaged in lies to deceive Deltans, but warned that the people were very discerning and would not fall for the calumny against the governor and the State Government.
He said that Okowa never betrayed South Nigeria in becoming the vice-presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Omo-Agege was maliciously peddling.
According to him, after the emergence of the presidential candidate of the party from the North, it was automatic that his running mate will come from the South, and for this, Okowa was found worthy to be selected having met the criteria set by the Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
He lampooned the Deputy President of the Senate, Omo-Agege, on his allegations that nothing was done in the state with monies received over the years, disclosing that in his (Omo-Agege’s) Orogun community alone, the state government executed five important road projects.
“Across his Ughelli North Local Government Area, we have executed no fewer than 20 projects and across his Senatorial District, no fewer than 88 projects have been executed by the Okowa administration.
“Let him tell Deltans what he has achieved from the Federal Government where he sits as the second-in-command at the Senate.
“It is on record that the Senate where he is a prominent member has been adjudged the worst since the fourth Republic began.
“It is this same National Assembly where he presides over that watched haplessly as President Muhammadu Buhari took our debt stock to over N60 trillion. Most times, the President collected loans, which he has continued to do almost monthly, without recourse to the Senate, in blatant contravention of the law.
“The injury inflicted on Nigerians by the APC through its maladministration in the country is fresh and tough on the people, yet the party is shamelessly campaigning for another chance to lead,’’ he said.
On the issues raised by APC’s Presidential Candidate, Bola Tinubu and former Governor of Edo, Adams Oshiomhole, at the party’s rally in Warri on Saturday, the governor’s spokesman said “we will not join issues with Bola Tinubu and Adams Oshiomhole; they should first clear themselves on issues of identity and scandals before casting aspersions on Okowa, a man with sterling credentials.
“But, we are not surprised at the way both men spoke at the rally, because in APC, lying and abusing people are in their DNA. And, the reason is obvious frustration.’’
He said work on some of the legacy projects of Governor Okowa’s administration was still ongoing in spite of the delay in accessing the bridging finance the government sought, adding, however, that “when we finally accessed N30 billion out of it, the governor, in his transparent culture, personally disclosed it to the media.
“So, we have nothing to hide here in Delta. That is the much that the State Government has collected from the bridging finance it sought and which some persons, including Omo-Agege, had ignorantly dubbed as loan of N150 billion and have continued to peddle it.”
He said that Oshiomhole, who was sacked as national chairman of APC by chairman of his Ward in Edo, was suffering from frustration, especially after the defeats he suffered in all his battles in Edo, the worst being when he tried to stop Governor Godwin Obaseki from getting a second term.
“Hundreds of Oshiomholes and Tinubus couldn’t do anything about the battle. They lost it and it is the same way they will again lose to better option of Atiku-Okowa and the PDP,’’ Ifeajika added
‘It is artistic’, Pretty Mike reacts to the controversy that he was chaining girls and pimping them out.
Nigerian Socialite and Entrepreneur, Pretty Mike sits with Chude Jideonwo, host of #WithChude to talk about, among many other things, his many controversies – the women in chains, the alleged pregnant girlfriends, and the police arrest over his stunts.
On his decision to return to Nigeria after a long stay in the US, he said, “People were like, let’s go back to Nigeria, there’s money there, and we can help the government. We had a couple of friends that came; it was successful. And 15 of us who recently finished college figured we could pull it off. Of all 15 of us that came back, I am the only one that stuck. Some couldn’t do six months; some couldn’t do a year. Funny enough, I fell into that category the first day I came back. The first day I came from the airport, I was taken to my uncle’s place in VGC, I had spent 4 hours driving and I thought that was the height. I called my dad, I was like ‘you know what, I am on the next flight back’”
Speaking on the controversial pictures and the petition that was made against him, he said, “It just happened in an environment that doesn’t understand the act or culture because, to me, it’s art — it’s artistic. Even when a petition was written, it was stated that it was against the lady’s will, and no, it wasn’t. I sat down one-on-one with the governor because the governor asked what was going on. I mean, he also clubbed and partied before he became a governor. So, he wanted to know what was going on; The framing of the petition was that I was openly chaining girls and giving them out to guys. I pulled out my phone and showed him pictures, that we were partying, that Kiss Daniel was there, and that we were spraying money. And it’s not like I’m the first to have done it; it happens all over the parts of the world. He advised me to make an apology and not do it again”.
Reacting to the rape allegation made against him, he shares, “What she wrote about me, of course, was totally false. Just like I tell people, when you are popular with fame, you have to expect some of these things because that is what you signed up for. You didn’t just sign up for the good side- the laughter, the party, there has to be some negative vibe that comes with it – some testing and trying period. It helps you develop emotionally and mentally, why put yourself in depression?”
“For me, I think I have thick skin. Over the years, I developed one not to pay attention to ‘haters’”, he added.
Pretty Mike also addressed the rumour that he had six pregnant girlfriends, “You can father six kids or more, and they may not be your biological kids. I get shocked when people think the way they think. Technically, you have six girlfriends, and you impregnated them in the same month or within a period of three months. Women as notorious as they are will never agree to come and follow you in public, I don’t care how rich you are.”