Okowa Sacks Uduaghan's Men,To Dissolve Agencies, Parastatals Soon
SAN FRANCISCO, June 17, (THEWILL) – Apprehension has continued to grip political appointees of former governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, as the new governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, is set to dissolve all state government agencies and parastatals in the state.
THEWILL learnt that Governor Okowa had last week directed the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Festus Ovie Agas, to prepare a memo dissolving the agencies and parastatals in the state.
Sources in the state alleged that the move is a way of getting back at the former governor, whose relationship with Okowa turned sour prior to the last PDP governorship primaries in the state.
THEWILL learnt that first to be axed among the Uduaghan’s loyalists was the Director General of the Direct Labour Agency (DLA), Mr. Emmanuel Odafe Igbini, who was booted out last week.
Also pencilled down for sack is the workaholic former Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation who doubles as Executive Secretary of Delta Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, an arm of the Ministry which was created by Uduaghan to coordinate the state micro credit programme.
THEWILL however learnt that Governor Okowa is set to retrench staff of the DLA as the recent visit of the Governor to agency, suggests that there are plans to carry out a “political vendetta” against Uduaghan’s men still in the government.
Reliable sources at the agency who preferred anonymity said the sack of the DLA’s DG and others to come were directed to pay Uduaghan back, saying there was no justifiable reasons for their sack than being Uduaghan’s ally, adding that the Governor had even directed that the agency be fully commercialised.
The staff, who craved anonymity, disclosed that during a meeting between the management of the agency and the governor held on Monday, Governor Okowa who was furious for no just cause threatened to retrench staff of the agency and directed that henceforth staff should go out and canvass for job as his government would no longer be interested in the agency.
“At our our Monday meeting with the governor, it was something else, come and see how the governor was so very angry at us during the meeting. Immediately he asked of the workers’ strength and human resource manager told him our strength, he flared up and threatened that nothing would stop him from carrying out retrenchment at the agency.
“There and then, we knew that the overzealous former director, Akpobire, has told all kind of lies to the governor so that he could be appointed as the new DG of the agency.
“Okowa is out for Uduaghan’s men in government, especially those at the helm of affairs of various agencies and boards of parastatals so that he could plant his loyalists. Okowa is only out for victimisation, he is out for political vendetta.
“Because he knows if he sacks only the DG, several meanings would be read to it and he decided to sack the entire board so as to plant one of his loyalists and former director in the agency, one Mr. Michael Akpobire, as the DG.
“Akpobire is a core Okowa loyalist who has always fought the sacked DG as well as instigating staff of the agency against the then DG. Come and see unprintable words and foul language being used on the sacked DG and other senior management of the agency by Governor Okowa during our meeting with him on Monday.” the staff stated.
THEWILL learnt that at the Monday meeting between Okowa and the management of the agency, the Governor threatened to direct the state commissioner of police to arrest the sacked DG should he fail to see him on or before Thursday this week.
“I doubt if Okowa can make a good governor. Though Uduaghan is bad, we wonder if at the end of the day, Okowa can be rated as one of the best governors Delta State has ever had with the way he started shortly on assumption of office. Delta State is beyond politics of vendetta. During our meeting with him, one of the staff of the agency stood up to introduce himself as the Communication Manager of the agency.
“You need to see how this man we call our governor flared up again, saying who gave the man the guts to introduce himself as the agency’s Communication Manager, that how can he have a Communication Manager and the same time the agency will have a Communication Manager. Immediately he directed that that department and other departments in the agency be scrapped,” a source at the meeting hinted.
The source disclosed that, out of anger, Okowa during the meeting, directed the secretary to the state government (SSG), who was in attendance to prepare a memo for the immediate dissolution of all the state government agencies and boards of parastatals to pave way for the appointment of his loyalists who suffered with him in the trenches prior to the PDP governorship primaries.
In another development, following recent appointments made into his media team and other offices, Governor Okowa has been accused of being a clannish governor.
It would be recalled that, Governor Okowa last week announced the appointment of his kinsmen to oversee his media department in the Government House which stakeholders have described as clannish and causing ripples among Deltans.
In the appointments made, Okowa has his kinsmen from his Ika axis as Director of Protocol, Communications Manager, Press Secretary (Print media), Press Secretary (Community newspapers), Press Secretary (Electronics media) and other Special Assistants. The development is already generating mixed feelings in the state.
According to a Governemnt House source, “Okowa’s clannish action has been described by some key political and media figures from both the Delta Central and South senatorial zones as a disappointment. This Delta North dominance of key Government House portfolios is unlike the previous administration of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan who spread portfolios across board, representing the three senatorial districts of the state.”