Memo To My Governor

My dear Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, last week, you celebrated one year in office of governing one of the most complex states in Nigeria. You used the opportunity to hold a press conference in Government House, Asaba so as to be transparent and accountable to the people, the owners of electoral sovereignty.

I am constrained to write you this letter not as a sign of disrespect but as a stakeholder in the Delta project and my craft as a member of the Fourth Estate of the Realm. Some of my observations may not sit well with you but that is the burden history and prosperity has placed on you.

I am really disturbed that despite your love for the mass media as testified by the number of journalists that attended the press briefing, the state owned media are in the intensive ward of hospital and that sooner or later the oxygen might be turned off. The Delta Broadcasting Service especially the television arm is an apology. Those of us who live in Asaba and neighbouring communities do not watch the station and if the truth must be told, has been off the air for twelve months running.

This is too bad in an era where individuals can successfully run television stations and even place them on satellite broadcast. The same is true of the one in Warri and many people are wondering what is happening to these stations. It does not paint the image of government in good light. As for the state owned newspaper, The Pointer, the fortunes of the stable is shrinking as it has not printing press and is domesticated in a rented apartment.

Sir, you have to look at this direction if these media houses are to do their work of information dissemination of government activities to the people and also get feedback from the people. I hope you are not taking the piece of advice of a powerful PDP man and a former minister who believes that government has no business in getting organs of mass media.

Sir, in that press briefing you said many things but I shall only leverage on two main points. You told the world that you have created 17,173 jobs through your `smart agenda` and as part of spreading prosperity to the people of Delta State. I am simply quaking with emotions and disbelief. If those people who demonstrated on the streets of Asaba some time ago that the job creation office of your government short-changed them and that the starter packs given to them were obsolete, then something must be wrong with that project.

Furthermore, on assuming office in May 2015, thousands of Deltans employed as civil servants were sent into unemployment cold with the excuse that some of them were not properly taken and that it was skewed towards some senatorial districts. Sir, today such people are not happy and waiting for you to correct the so called anomalies. You spoke of your determination to weed ghost workers from the staff strength of 66,000 workers, my plea here is that it should be done in the best interest of the state and not a way of sending more people into the unemployment winter.

Sir, your claim of creating 17,173 jobs is a reminder of the plight of pensioners, those senior citizens that used their salad years in the service of the state. Agreed that some of the pension liabilities were inherited but governance is not about throwing your arms in the air and doing nothing. Governance is about problem solving and strategic thinking. That is why my dear governor, you must address the issues of pension and that since 2013, those who retired from the civil service are yet to get their benefits.

As a man committed to the service of the state, your disposition towards the multibillion Independent Power Project, Oghara, to say the least, is disappointing. The N23billion expanded on the project belongs to Deltans and as a man in custody of their electoral mandate; you carry all their hopes and aspirations. You are in position to support the probe of the State House of Assembly and you should not in Pilate-like manner wash your hands off the matter. Anybody that fleeced the state as far as the matter is concerned should be brought to book and justice.

Sir, this letter cannot capture all your activities in one year but there is need to give flesh to your Pan Deltan Agenda as there are grumblings in some quarters that apart from the commissioners, some political appointments are skewed in favour of your senatorial district and local council areas. You must address such fears and treat the whole state as your constituency in appointments and the spread of social amenities.

I know that you cannot satisfy everybody but if there are manifest issues of marginalization and favouritism, even the best of propagandists cannot help your cause. In the press briefing, you admitted that governance is not a pleasure cruise but if you carry the majority of the people along, the rumblings and grumblings would be minimized.

Sir, you have to do something about the Direct Labour Agency for it cannot justify its existence. Do something about the duplication of services of the Ministry of Urban Renewal and the Delta State Capital Development Authority. There are too many committees in your administration doing nothing and same with the large crowd of political aides. The times are lean and you should have an effective and lean administration in line with your `smart` agenda. I wish you all the best as you continue to render services to our dear state.

Julius Oweh, a journalist, Asaba, Delta State. 08037768392