By Augustine Avwode

In two days, it would be four years since the era of Sen Dr Ifeanyi Okowa dawned on Delta State. And, let’s say it here the way it is: Okowa has given a good account of himself as the Governor of Delta State in the last four years.
He has not only demonstrated abundance of Competence, Character and Capacity, the three Cs all good and great leaders should have, he has added a fourth, – compassion, which together with the first three, makes  him one of the best around.

A promise keeper by every definition, Governor Okowa, in the last four years has walked his talk and kept faith with his electoral promises hinged on the  S.M.A.R.T agenda that came with a likeable chorus: “Prosperity for all Deltans”.
Okowa’s consuming passion, one can say, has been how to ensure that Deltans, irrespective of differences in ethnicity, gender, faith or political persuasion, come together as one united people, live a good and decent life and ensure the greater good for the greater number people. The beauty of Governor Okowa’s SMART agenda is fact that it at the heart of people’s efforts to meet their everyday needs.

From day one, he left no one in doubt that he was prepared for the job. He hit the ground running and the last four years have been phenomenal. Within a week of his inauguration, he sent two bills to the State House of Assembly in respect of Asaba Capital City Development and the State Health Contributory Scheme. And, in less than a month of his being sworn-in as Governor, he sent in a list of 12 commissioner nominees to the Assembly. A clear indication he hasn’t come to play but to work, and, he has amply justify the pan-Deltans mandate given to him.

Okowa brought verve, passion, excitement and confidence into governance. He threw himself at his job with so much zeal notwithstanding the fact that the economic horizon was heavily overcast, menacingly cloudy and frighteningly intimidating as at when he took charge.

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For a start, take Governor Okowa’s job cum wealth creation and empowerment initiatives. They are as scientific and strategic as they are practical, transparent and result oriented. With the establishment of the Job Creation Office, Okowa came up with schemes such as the Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP); Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurs Programme (YAGEP); Graduate Employment Enhancement Programme (GEEP); and skills acquisition and empowerment programme for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) for training youths in technical and business skills of their choice vocations and providing them with starter packs to establish their own businesses.

With this, at least a total of 2,324 unemployed youths have been transformed into owners of business enterprises, self-employed individuals and employers of labour since its inception in August 2015 with the following:  1,687 STEPreneurs, 618 YAGEPreneurs and 19 beneficiaries of GEEP.

And in line with Governor Okowa’s principle of inclusiveness, STEP and YAGEP beneficiaries comprise 64% males and 36% females and that includes (51) Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).  The wealth and job creation efforts have received commendations from within and outside the state, including the “Outstanding Governor Of The Year Award (Job Creation) from Daar Communications Limited, owners of RayPower FM and AIT and other sundry bodies and individuals, including the World Bank in Nigeria.

Okowa’s peace building initiatives in the last four years have engendered a new found sense of unity, peaceful and collective approach to the development of the state, almost completely erasing inter-ethnic acrimony, social upheavals or sectarian related disturbances in the state. This is a clear departure from the tense atmosphere of mutual suspicion, mistrust and misgiving that pervaded the political space as at the time he took over. The one or two incidences recorded in this regard were quickly, firmly and objectively resolved. There is no doubting the success recorded by Governor Okowa in his bid to build bridges of oneness, unity and peaceful co-existence among all Deltans.

His imprint in urban renewal and infrastructure development has been bold, legible, equitable and verifiable and second to none across the three senatorial districts of the state. Take Asaba, the capital City for instance, in the last four years, Asaba status as a state capital has changed so dramatically. Look at the Asaba Airport now, take the Asaba Storm Water Drainage Project, the Mariam Babangida Road and Cable Point Road among many other network of internal roads.

As we speak, Ekwueme has turned Asaba to the sporting capital of Nigeria.  He achieved this through the reconstruction, redevelopment and upgrade of the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, a project that was abandoned for a long time. One must not forget the New State Secretariat that promises to house all ministries, departments and agencies.

Then you talk infrastructure. It’s not for nothing that Governor Okowa is nicknamed “The Road Master”. In very simple term, the construction of new, or rehabilitation of existing roads in the state has never been this good. Within the last four years, the Okowa administration has embarked on at least 317 road projects across the state with most of them located in rural areas. And the rural folks are not only happy but full of praises and prayers for the man everyone loves to call Ekwueme (Talk and Do).

On Education, Okowa’s policy is simple. He has repositioned the education policy of the state with emphasis on technical and skill acquisition. Given the dearth of white-collar jobs and the menace youth unemployment poses to society, acquiring a vocation or skill comes handy as a most plausible remedy.

To this end, the technical colleges in the state have been renovated and given a rich face-lift to adequately deliver on this vision. Gov Okowa, while on an inspection of the state Polytechnic at Ogwashi-Uku recently reiterated his vision on education. Hear him: “If we strengthen skill acquisition and entrepreneurship development, we will have creators of jobs and creators of wealth as graduates in the new Nigeria”. Such has been his passion and believe in technical and vocational education.

Governor Okowa’s health care delivery policy in the last four years has been fantastic. The Delta State Health Insurance Scheme which he initiated has the enviable record of being its very first in any state across the federation and boasts of about 500,000 enrollees. Then you have the massive renovation of hospitals and equipping them and making them functional to meet the daily need of the people.

The various awards Governor Okowa garnered in the last four years are eloquent testimonies to the success he has recorded in the state.  For these and many more positive steps taken by a man who came prepared with clear-cut vision, ample passion and desire to make an impact, Deltans justly rewarded Okowa with a resounding Second Term Mandate.

Since Governor Okowa has written his name in solid gold through verifiable performance in the last four years, Deltans have every reason to look forward to another four years of #StrongerDelta and #BetterDaysAhead.
*Augustine Avwode, is Media Aide to Governor Okowa.