BArrister Mary Oyibocha-Agbajoh is a Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State. Oyibocha-Agbajoh studied Industrial Relations and Personnel Management (IRPM) and Law at the University of Lagos and also has professional certificate in Negation and Mediation.

A member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, she describes herself as a progressive, but besides her duties for the governor of Delta State, Oyibocha-Agbajoh is also a strong and passionate advocate for a second term for President Goodluck Jonathan who according to her has transformed virtually every sector of the Nigerian polity.

Oyibocha-Agbajoh was in 2007 appointed chairperson/national coordinator of the Goodluck Initiatives, a platform that was conceived to propagate the political philosophy of the then vice-president of the country. In this interview she canvasses reasons why Nigerians should support the administration, rebuffs the assertions of the opposition as she points at what she describes as the legacies of the Jonathan administration. Excerpts:

By EMMANUEL AZIKEN, POLITICAL EDITOR

POLITICAL Background
We all are politically inclined, perhaps right from our birth. To me, politics is a way of life, it depends on how one views, perceives and plays it. I started playing politics from my very early days in my family.

I was actually born into a home where love and truth is the parameter; a platform I leveraged on towards being part of the process or means through which I can be part of the policy making and implementation process that will impact on the lives of my people.

Performance of President Jonathan
I say it categorically that President Goodluck Jonathan has done extremely well; well above expectation. Even in the face of turmoil and security challenges, he still remains focused to transforming Nigeria.

When did the railway work last in the history of Nigeria? When did ‘Almajiris’ start learning instead of walking or begging on the streets? When last did Nigerians stop sleeping in petrol stations? These are clear signs of a President who is genuinely committed to his task and his people. Even if Nigerians are seeking for a sudden change, it will not come overnight. President Jonathan is practically cleaning up the mess of yesteryears and that cannot happen by magic.

Look at the almajiris, he designed a scheme to take little kids out of the street and give them world class education.
On petroleum product supply; President Jonathan has been able to expose those eating the nation dry in the name of fuel subsidy.

In the same vein, by maintaining law and order in the Niger Delta and other parts of the nation, Nigeria’s revenue has increased since oil production skyrocketed from 700,000 barrel per day to 2.5million barrel per day at present leading to a robust economy where other African nations are currently using Nigeria as a model.
The Goodluck Jonathan administration has improved the power generation from around 2000 megawatts to 4502 megawatts; the highest since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999.

President Jonathan’s administration set up 14 New Rice Mills with capacity to process 240 metric tons of rice while Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava in the world with 34 million MT produced per annum amongst other achievements.

He is not only a visionary leader; he is also a performing leader. His performances are evident in job creation, power reforms, agricultural transformations, roads construction, aviation, transportation, economic growth, education, water, pension reforms, oil industry reforms, electoral reforms, ports reforms, freedom of information act, legal and judicial reforms.

You see, only a man with a sound academic resume and a clear developmental vision would achieve so much within the limitations of so many factors.

On Jonathan’s second term ambition
I say it categorically that President Goodluck Jonathan has done extremely well; well above expectation. Even in the face of turmoil and security challenges, he still remains focused on transforming Nigeria.