I Feel Your Pains, Okowa Tells Deltans In His 57th Independence Anniversary Address 

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state on Sunday told Deltans that he is feeling their pains, saying that his administration was doing everything under the current challenging circumstances, to bring succour to the good people of the state.

The Governor stated this while addressing Deltans during the 57th Independence Anniversary celebration held at the Cenotaph, Asaba, the state capital.

Okowa said that the state government remain committed to ensuring prosperity for all, adding that government have reformed governance processes to ensure greater transparency and prudence in the application of resources.

According to him, all facet of the nation’s economy was weighed down by the economic challenges faced by Nigeria, expressing hope however, that the recent announcement by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, of positive GDP growth in the second quarter of this year, is a silver lining in the sky, signaling the end of the longest recession in our nation’s history.

“I know how difficult things are and how tough life has become and it will take a while for the impact of the end of the recession to be felt in our households but I remain optimistic.

“I am also conscious of the fact that our people are making necessary sacrifices to cope with present challenges.  By the special grace of God, such sacrifices will not be in vain, he assured.

While commending Deltans for their patience, steadfastness and perseverance under the present economic difficulties, the governor sue for resilience saying; “we should not be consumed by our petty differences; rather, we should be united by our common humanity, because we are stronger. No part of the State is more special than the other.

Continuing, he said, “Together, we can make progress with our collective effort and work towards the Delta State where we should all be proud to belong.

“As a State, we remain undeterred by the present circumstances as we are working hard to build solid structures on which our people will stand to cultivate and harvest good fortunes for their benefits and those of the State.

“Let me also assure all Deltans that I feel your pains and I am doing everything under the current challenging circumstances, to bring succour to you, my dear people.

“The focus of this administration has been on job creation and youth empowerment. That is why we embarked on the reconstruction of the State-owned technical colleges in Agbor, Ofagbe and Sapele.

“This was in furtherance of government’s desire to promote technical and vocational education, which is at the core of our educational policy and the enhancement of human capital.

“This was followed by our empowerment programmes of youths trainingunder the Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP) with provisions to support them to start their own businesses.

“Another group of youths was trained under the Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurs Programme (YAGEP). We also introduced Graduate Employment Enhancement Programme (GEEP), designed to cater for unemployed graduates.

“In the last two years, 42, 000 new jobs has been tracked as directly created from our government’s programmes and projects. This, of course, excludes private sector jobs created through investments arising from the conducive environment that we have created. However, we will not rest on oars as we intensify efforts to expand opportunities.

“As part of the faithful implementation of our SMART agenda, this government has completed the construction/rehabilitation of fifty-five critical inter and intra-city road projects, including concrete-lined drains, while others are at various levels of completion.

“In the health sector, this government is focused on development of hospitals and primary healthcare centres, including the procurement of drugs and cutting edge medical equipment in major healthcare facilities in the three senatorial districts”.

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