Chief Sunday Eromedoghene  Onoriode, Delta  State Organizing Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is the immediate past Chairman of Ethiope East local government area  and one-time-State Director of Youths Mobilization and Assistant Secretary of the party.

In this piece, Onoriode speaks on the second anniversary of the Okowa administration.

On the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa administration two years in office.

Without mincing words, Okowa is an action governor who has, for the past twenty four months of his administration, embarked on massive infrastructural projects across Delta.

Okowa’s government is geared towards making Deltans, especially the youths, self-dependent, and this has played out in their enrolment under a  skill acquisition programme so that at the end of the exercise they will be empowered and same time be employer of labour.

Okowa  started the skill acquisition programme with  starter pack for the beneficiaries immediately he was sworn-in as governor  in 2015. The first batch of graduates that passed out in the first three months of his administration were trained  in  farming, welding and fabrication, crafts work, hair-styling, soap making and  they all left  to establish their own business.

The governor may have done this because of his  zeal to engage the youths, even before his election as governor. And he followed up this when he became governor because of his belief that government cannot employ everybody.

And reports show that the programme has made so many of the youth to be  independent such that they can now take care of themselves and their families.

On the state of roads across Delta

We do not need to speak on roads in the state because even those who  are not our party members have always commended Okowa for his wonderful work. If l must be frank with you, l never thought the Okowa government could go this far in the area of road network, but l give God the glory that he is proving his worth in just two years in office and Deltans are proud of this great mark.

If you are following up, you will agree with me that Okowa, the Ekwueme of Africa, has ensured that all roads in the state are in order to ease the cost of transportation, mostly for farmers  so that they can get  their farm produce to the market to cushion the effect of  economic recession.

We are all aware that  since the inception of Okowa’s administration, he has constructed several township and rural roads across the state.

In fulfilment  of his manifesto and that of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Okowa has embarked on a free maternal and antenatal health care for pregnant women and medical treatment  for children under the age of five.

While the governor plans to extend the free health care services to aged persons, he is also warming up to commission the Asaba General Hospital  while repositioning the Delta State Teaching Hospital, Oghara, to compete with  renown hospitals across the world.

On education, Okowa has upgraded three technical colleges to world standards  in the three senatorial districts, and has also embarked on massive renovations of  primary and secondary schools in the state in order to create a conducive atmosphere  while improving  our educational standard.

He has also reduced the rate of unemployment in the state through the  job creation and wealth programs.  Another major achievement is the  rehabilitation of Ozoro, Owhe-Ologbo/Abe road that links  Abraka, the significance  of this project is that it links the three senatorial districts; Ozoro/Owhe-Ologbo in Delta South, Abbe in North and Abraka in Delta Central.

These roads network across the state is designed for easy transportation and flow of farm produce. In sports, he has done well by bringing back the golden olden  days while introducing what we call the Principal  Cup which ended only recently. And he has also encouraged annual inter-house sports competition in primary and secondary schools. And you will agree with me that the just concluded Delta  State Sport Festival held in Ozoro, was a blast.

Okowa’s government has never undermined the issue of security, as he has been working with  security agencies  in the state to ensure that Deltans are well secured.

These are the things we have seen that give us the conviction that his performance in the past two years will give him another resounding victory come 2019. I want to call  on Deltans to give him  support now and come 2019, going by the massive development  that  we are experiencing.

It is not just saying it that the governor is working, Okowa is going round the 25 local government areas to hold  town hall meetings on how to further improve on his achievements.

This will tell you the nature of the man Delta has elected as its governor, a man who has put  tribal sentiments aside while focusing on all  the nooks  and crannies  of the state out of his belief that he is not  the governor of the PDP but governor of the people of Delta.