Okowa, Deputy Take Oath Of Office, Say Delta Will Be A Frontrunner In The Federation

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta and his deputy, Kingsley Otuaro, on Wednesday took their oath of allegiance to serve the state for another four-year term at the Stephen Keshi stadium in Asaba, the state capital.

Okowa who was administered the oath alongside his Deputy by the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Marshall Umukoro, however pledged to abide by the country’s Constitution  and to evenly deliver development to all parts of the state.

In his inaugural speech, Governor Okowa said that his reelection was a vote of confidence that would spur him and his deputy to do more in area of infrastructural development, healthcare delivery, entrepreneur skills acquisition for youths as well as technical education.

“My renewed mandate is a massive vote of confidence for the work we have done in the last four years. As I said in my broadcast to you soon after I was declared re-elected, this mandate is an invitation to raise the bar of good governance even higher and to surpass my achievements in the first term.

BIGPEN Online reports that Okowa said among the things he would vigorously pursue in the next four years is restrengthening the technical education sector and vocational training for youths to make them self reliance.

“Top on the list of my priorities is the establishment of 19 new technical colleges in 19 Local Government Areas. This will bring the total number of technical colleges to 25, which is one per Local Government Area. To complement these, a fully functional vocational centre is to be established in each of the 25 LGAs while the existing polytechnics will be reformed and repositioned to become hubs for technical manpower development. Towards this end, entrepreneurial courses shall be introduced into their curriculum and made mandatory as a requirement for graduation.

“In the next four years, I shall consolidate,  strengthen and upscale our wealth creation agenda. The focus remains to liberate the spirit of enterprise in our people through skills acquisition germane to wealth creation and employment generation.

Okowa appealed to Deltans particularly the youths to give his administration maximal support, specifically urging the youth, to be law abiding and refrain from acts inimical to the peace and stability of the State.

Speaking further, he said,  “On our part, my deputy and I, we pledge to do our best to be deserving of your trust. Indeed, we are resolute in our quest to leave a legacy of a Delta State that is the frontrunner in the federation. All we need are your prayers and full cooperation.

“The future that we envision requires that we all open our hearts and minds to the values of love, courage, discipline, cooperation and commitment, which are imperative for growth, stability and sustainable development”.

The colourful ceremony was attended by former governor of the state, Chief James Ibori, several prominent Deltans, including traditional rulers, Clergymen, Senator James Manager, House of Rep member, Hon Leo Ogor, Prince Ned Nwoko as well as governor’s associate, Jide Omokore among others.