Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, an APC candidate for governor in Delta State, has requested an explanation from Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, the PDP candidate for vice president and state governor, about Delta’s portion of the 13% oil derivation payment made by the federal government.
Omo-Agege urged Okowa to personally explain how the PDP-led state government spent Delta’s portion of the funds.
When the APC’s ward-to-ward campaign train visited Abbi, Kwale, Utagba-Uno, and other wards in the state’s Ndokwa West Local Government Area on Monday, the deputy president of the senate gave a speech.
A sizable gathering of supporters greeted Omo-Agege at each of the wards he visited, and he said that there was no evidence to corroborate the substantial funding the state had gotten from the federal government.
In the company of Hon. Friday Osanebi, his running mate for the APC nomination for governor, and other APC officials, Omo-Agege declared that the APC was still the best option for the 2023 general election.
The Okowa-led administration, according to the APC governor candidate, marginalized the Ndokwa people.
If chosen to serve as the state’s next governor, he stressed, his administration will be welcoming to young people and women.
Omo-Agege clarified that he selected Osanebi as his running companion in an effort to close the generational gap between himself and the younger generation.
“You all know that Okowa ran for governor on the Anioma Agenda platform roughly seven years ago,” remarked Omo-Agege. At one point, he said to all Deltans that the marginalization of the people of Delta North was a problem that could only be solved by electing an Anioma son, who would then bring wealth to the Anioma people and the entire Delta State.
“However, as I drive through the Ndokwa West Local Government Area today, I have not seen any evidence of the wealth that Okowa promised. Charles Emetulu has been in office as a commissioner and member of the House of Assembly for about 12 years, yet during that time he has failed to bring progress to the Ndokwa West Local Government Area.
When Okowa built three universities in Delta State while Emetulu was present, neither he nor Sheriff, the PDP candidate for governor, brought anyone to the Ndokwa nation. Instead, Emetulu was present when Okowa’s proxy, the Speaker of the Delta State of Assembly, held the gavel.
The Ndokwa people are mostly responsible for the derivation funds that came to Delta, including the lost funds that Wike helped us find in Premium Trust Bank. The Ndokwa nation provides too much to the Nigerian economy and Delta State. We had no idea where the N250 billion that was missing had been hidden, but Wike was able to assist us, and we were able to locate our derivation funds in a Premium Trust Bank account.
“We are aware that under the legislation in Delta State, the government and the oil-producing communities are each to receive 50% of the derivation revenue. We know that of the $250 billion in that bank, 50% belongs to the Delta State oil-producing communities. Before any money is spent, it must first be appropriated in the state House of Assembly; however, they have not done so. They should explain to us why our derivation funds are being used without an appropriated budget. The good news is that God has given us the opportunity to vote out PDP in the upcoming election, which is why we are requesting that Sheriff, Okowa, and Charles Emetulu provide an account of money derived from Delta State.
When all of these are operating, there will be good jobs for our youth and children, which is why we must vote for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for President and Sen. Bukola Saraki for Vice President, he said. “He will also help us so that we can evaluate what happened to our Delta Steel Company, and when all of these are functioning, there will be good jobs for our youth and children.”
When welcoming PDP defectors to the APC in Abbi earlier, Chief Omeni Sobotie, the state’s APC chairman, said: “I can guarantee you that you are not going to regret supporting APC. No single Deltan has experienced the wealth that the Delta PDP over seven years had promised. The people of Delta should go and urge Okowa to return our N250 billion that President Buhari gave him.
Tony Ogwu, the PDP defectors’ leader in Abbi, claimed that despite the Ndokwa people’s significant contributions to the state and country’s economy and development, the PDP-led Delta Government had not treated them fairly over the years. As a result, they have all decided to make restitution by supporting the APC in the 2023 elections.
The PDP has degraded the Ndokwa nation over the past 23 years, according to Ogwu. When deciding where to locate development projects, we are the least important factor.
Positions are provided to our people that they are unable to employ for their own or another person’s empowerment. Thanks to Okowa and the Delta PDP, Ndokwa is currently at the bottom of Delta’s development index ladder.
“By voting for the APC and removing the PDP from office, we have the chance to make up for their years of neglect of the Ndokwa country. The APC is our country’s best hope for the future. Ndokwa nation must support and vote for the APC in 2023 in order to become a part of our country’s mainstream politics.
In addition, Omo-Agege and his group went to Kwale to meet with HRM Oduosa of the Utagba-Ogbe Kingdom, where he criticized the Okowa-led government.
He gave the monarch his word that his administration would be impartial and deal with the socioeconomic and infrastructure development problems that the residents of Ndokwa West LGA were confronting.
The Utagba-Ogbe Kingdom’s king, HRM Oduosa, then prayed for Omo-Agege and Osanebi, their running mate, to be successful in their endeavor to lead a new Delta.
