*Okowa wanted to wear me out financially

*PDP has become a failure, retrogressive party

Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, a lawyer and former Minister of State for Education, is the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, in Delta State.  In this interview he spoke on a number of issues, including his chances and why the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, will be defeated in the crowded contest.

With the postponement of the governorship and State House of Assembly elections, how far have you gone given that you are the very first person to declare for the governorship contest and also stayed in the race since 2019?

We should thank God because God is real today and forever. My enemies and detractors thought that they were going to wear me out of the race financially. Governor Ifeanyi Okowa called me, saying I should start the race. I was shocked because it was barely three months into his second tenure. He literally forced me into the race, and now looking at it from hindsight, Okowa forced me to start the race embarrassingly. So, it has dawned on me now that he wants to wear me out financially, believing that it will get to the time when I can no longer cope with the financial responsibility.

However, to his greatest surprise, God has helped me to cope, not by my power or strength. And the result is obvious. I owe everything to God. During a meeting with Okowa, with Prophet Eruemulor, Lawrence Oshiegbu and my wife in attendance, I told him that unless God is not real, he will hand over to me as governor in 2023, and the prophet responded with a resounding amen. The power Okowa thought he had- the power of life and death- has dissipated.

I believe that the election will be a landslide victory for me on March 18. We know they will attempt to rig it, but God will rig them out. At the appropriate time, they will know that rigging is not a good way of life.

I ask all Deltans to ensure that the results at polling units must be sacrosanct. It must be followed to a final and logical conclusion; we must not give them any room to rig the election. The embarrassment INEC is experiencing today is a positive development. It shows that it is not going to be business as usual. Delta will be liberated on March 18 by the special Grace of God.

Given the peculiarities of Delta State, what are the basic issues that defined the campaign among the candidates of the various parties in the state? 

These issues are simple! Two of the candidates have an unenviable past except me. They have absolutely nothing to show what they have done in Delta State to create employment, create an environment for the citizens to thrive, like me. The other candidates have issues of theft, deportation, and certificate forgery or other baggage, but I have none. What has made me stand out to Christians and Non-Governmental Organizations is my transparent disposition and the records are there. Deltans have seen them for who they are: people that cannot be trusted. They have nothing to offer.

You have spoken passionately about industrialising Delta, and paying stipends to unemployed youths. Has the Directorate of Research and Statistics in your campaign organisation provided the figures of unemployed youths across the state?

We have a temporary figure in every local government across the state pending final authentication and that has been factored into our plan. For instance, if you stop all these irresponsible payments of Personal Assistants, Special Assistants, Senior Special Assistants which run into billions of Naira, it will be enough to pay our unemployed graduate youths. If you gainfully engage an unemployed youth, we will solve the majority of our problems while we bring them out of irresponsible conducts. What the youths are being taught now is that irresponsibility, lack of hard work and thuggery are ways of life. I disagree with that completely. It is unacceptable! This is why a lot of them erroneously say I am tough. I strongly believe that we can get things right if given the mandate because I have a firm grasp of the challenges bedeviling our state.

We were thinking that for you to actualise your youth empowerment agenda, you should have accurate figures to work with

There is no local government that has less than 5,000 unemployed youths, and I said pending authentication because 5,000 is the rough figure at our disposal. So that is the demography with which we have planned our programme and I am saying that the figure itself will be authenticated. We are in the process of deploying computers to the 25 local government areas of the state for registration. We have a form you will fill in to get automatically captured in the database. My job creation officers in the 25 local government areas will be in charge and ensure that it works.

You have shown some passion for your industrialisation initiative; so, what type of funding model do you envision in this regard, if elected into office?

I am going to create an arrangement where the government will have between seven and a maximum of 15 per cent stake while investors will be encouraged to drive the process. Government involvement is to make sure we guarantee land, infrastructure, security and every other thing needed to make our developmental initiative come to fruition.

On his chances against PDP and APC 

If you have a father, whether for 24 years or 70 years, a stupid father is a stupid father no matter the years. PDP has turned out to be a failure and the most retrogressive party. Nigerians have rejected them! Deltans have also rejected them and they have nothing to offer. It is because of their lack of value that Governor Okowa lost his local government area (Ika North-East) at the presidential election. The party is dead and buried! We founded the party and we have left it for men without integrity and unenviable background and moved on to better and prosperous things. Okowa thinks he is smart and tricky, yet forgets that I am a criminologist. He thought by now I would have been down and out, but I am waxing stronger by the day. God is the owner of funds, I mean genuine funds.

What’s your message to Deltans ahead of the March 18, governorship elections?

Please Deltans, open your eyes because you have been deceived and lied to. Delta is the richest state in Nigeria. Delta is richer than 42 countries in the world. Don’t let anyone deceive you from casting your vote for me. I did not strip anybody naked! Gbagi does not have a lion in his house. It is a campaign of calumny to tarnish my hard-earned reputation. People say I am rigid and tough, but that is not the truth. I am only principled and I will remain principled until I die. What you need in Delta now are the elements of principles and progress. I will liberate Delta from the stranglehold of the PDP and set it back on the path of recovery, sustainable growth and development.

Deltans are equal. I will not develop Oginibo at the expense of Ogwashi-Uku or Sapele or any other town. I will develop the state evenly because we need every bit and piece to make up Delta. As it is today, all other parts of the state are in shambles except Owa-Alero, the Governor’s hometown. Wise people don’t behave like that. When I brought a higher institution to Delta State, I didn’t bring it to my place, Oginibo. I brought it to Effurun because I am not parochial or myopic. Delta State is my place and I will develop it evenly, if given the mandate on March 18, 2023.