By Festus Ahon

WHEN former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State assumed office on May 29 2007, many people doubted his ability to perform for no just reason but, to the chagrin of the doubting Thomases, he came up with a brilliant three-point agenda which brought dynamism into his eight-year-rule.

Uduaghan

His critics then saw him as a shadow of his predecessor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, who they accused of imposing his cousin, Udughan, on the state as governor.

This unfounded allegation brought so much hatred  for Uduaghan while his critics, whose sense of reasoning was beclouded by envy, never saw anything good in him and his noble ideas to move Delta forward. Undaunted, Uduaghan moved on with his administration of the state.

The choice of his political appointees jolted the critics, going by the calibre of those appointed, who were mainly technocrats with the present Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as Secretary to  the State Government, SSG, Comrade Ovuozorie Macaulay as Chief of Staff, but who later became the Commissioner for Power and Energy and a host of others.

The state took off on the three-point agenda of peace and security, human capital and infrastructural development.   In less than one year in office, he flagged off what is today referred to as the Asaba International Airport worth billions of naira.

When he flagged off the airport project on February 15, 2008, Uduaghan’s critics then saw it as a tall dream that could not be accomplished. The downgrading of the airport, which came at the twilight of his administration last year after it had started hosting local flights with high patronage from within the state and neighbouring Anambra State, did not dampen his zeal to see to the completion of the airport.

On being briefed on the reasons for the downgrading of the airport, Uduaghan, who had also commenced the expansion of the Osubi airport, Warri, to accommodate cargo aircraft, immediately went back to the drawing board and moved to pull down the hills and upgrade the run ways as recommended by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA.

He was on top of that and smaller aircraft were flying in and out of the airport when his government wound up on May 29, 2015. But his successor, Okowa, who was part of the first tenure of the Uduaghan’s administration, is not resting on his oars to see to the completion of the airport.

Also in less than two years into his first term in office, Uduaghan kicked off the dualization of the over 150 kilometers Ughelli/ Asaba Road which he awarded to three contractors.

While Sector ‘A’ was awarded to Workson, Sector ‘B’ to CCC, Sector ‘C’, being the Asaba end of it, was awarded to ULO Consult with mobilization to all three contractors to facilitate the completion of the project.

While the contractor handling Sector ‘B’ of the road project completed his part 100 percent, the contractor handling Sector ‘A’ allegedly achieved less than 30 percent and Sector ‘C’  achieving less than 15 percent; a development that angered the then governor who revoked the contracts for Sectors A and C.

He re-awarded the contract for Sector A to CCC, but was restrained by the contractor in charge of Sector C who ran to court to get an injunction. As at the time he left office, over 50 percent of the road had been completed.

Meanwhile, Okowa, who believes government is a continuum, has released more funds and the contractor handling Sector A is working hard to see to the completion of the project.

Another project of  Uduaghan, for which he is still being remembered, is his free maternal healthcare program, which came on stream on May 27, 2010. He later complemented this with the introduction of the free under-five health care program.

These health schemes benefited the rich and the poor  as they helped  to reduce maternal and infant mortality  in Delta.

Another star project of the Uduaghan government was the completion and equipping of the state  University Teaching Hospital at Oghara. Today, it is the only teaching hospital in the country that has successfully carried out kidney transplant.

The workaholic Uduaghan, who also lit major streets in major towns in the state including the Asaba capital city, dualised several township roads across the state including the completion of the ones started by his predecessor, Ibori.

Another remarkable project Uduaghan would be remembered for is the new Government House, Asaba, which he started and was commissioned by former President Goodluck Jonathan. The Government House is giving the state a face lift.

Also worthy of mention is the two flyover bridges in Asaba and Effurun to ease traffic congestion and to beautify the two cities.

Uduaghan, who had his 2007 election annulled, went for a rerun in October 2010 which he also won.  He was never discouraged by the antics of his political enemies. He kept on with his genuine desire and determination to impact on the lives of Deltans. Today, Uduaghan has left behind legacies for which he will be remembered. The former governor did not leave civil servants out in his government as he paid salaries on or before the 26th of every month and before the 14th in  December.

His penchant for qualitative education was also brought to bear through his free education program which made education at the primary and secondary school levels affordable to Deltans.

His administration took over WAEC enrollment fee for SSS 3 students across the state and also carried out massive renovation and construction of classroom blocks as well as introduced  Education Marshalls whose duty it was to ensure that all children were in class during school hours.

A visionary administrator, the former governor envisaged an economy that would no longer be solely reliant on oil revenue hence he came up with the Delta Beyond Oil initiative.

No doubt, his achievements and those of Ibori have endeared their party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the people and were largely responsible to the landslide victory recorded by the party at the 2015 general election except for few state Assembly seats and the Delta Central senatorial seat it lost to opposition parties.