THREE YEARS OF OKOWA: MOVING DELTA FORWARD, BY HESSINGTON OKOLO

In May 2015 after 8 years of Governor Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, Sen. Dr. Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa was sworn in as the fourth democratically elected Governor of Delta State. Earlier in 2006/7 Dr. Okowa has sought the Seat of Governor of Delta State but God said it wasn’t yet time but in 2015 God said it was the appointed time and so come May 29th 2015 despite the big hurdles thrown his way (story for another day) Okowa assumed office as Governor.

The question today is: three years after how has Okowa fared in piloting the affairs of Delta State.

Sen. Dr. Okowa came to office with a smart agenda and a slogan for prosperity for all deltas and in the past three years I make bold to say that he has performed creditably well across the state.

Today, in my personal visits to over 18 local governments his impact can be felt across the local governments.

For instance the perennial flooding of the Asaba (Delta State Capital city) metropolis is been tackled headlong with the multi billionaire Naira Asaba Storm Water Project. This project when completed will see to the end of flooding in Asaba.

The New secretariat building is also coming up just fine. This project when completed will bring all MDAs under one roof with ease for interconnectivity and optimal productive output by our civil servants and the ministries in which they serve. The project will have it’s own independent power source when completed to aid smooth running of the ministries.

The above two projects are star projects within the Asaba metropolis.

Also, any one leaving in Asaba will not be unaware of the massive road infrastructure both completed and ongoing. Internal roads are receiving attention and it’s obvious that soon Asaba would acquire the look of a true statement capital.

I have used Asaba to buttress some of The Star projects of Dr. Okowa as Governor but truth be told what’s true of Asaba is true of all the local governments in the state. The Ayakoromo bridge when completed will link the riverine community with close communities.

Okowa’s infrastructural development strides has earned him the title road master.

One of Okowa’s star policy project for which I am particularly enamored is the YAGEP/STEP program. The policy is intended to ignite the entrepreneur spirirtually amongst our people especially young Deltas. The project under the office of the Chief Job Creation Officer has trained and equipped/set up over 5000 deltans in different areas from agriculture to fashion designing, it has been a hit back to back. Okowa by this program is producing self sufficient deltans, a true delta beyond oil.

It is obvious that Okowa came to office fully prepared to lead and govern. He knew what he wanted and he has done a good job so far of achieving them. I can say confidently that Okowa has not disappointed Deltans.

Okowa dey work we dey see am!