•Raises dust on new Delta Secretariat, Asaba Airport projects
•What Okowa told reporters on the controversial projects

ALL Progressives Congress, APC, governorship aspirant in Delta State, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, who hails from the Ika-speaking area of Anioma (Delta north senatorial district) as the governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has sworn that he would never collaborate with   him because the latter is a conservative   and ‘a leopard who can never change its spot.’

Ojougboh, a former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, until his defection, last year, was one of the Anioma sons who worked for Okowa’s emergence as governor in 2015, but had since disclaimed him, saying he was a total failure.

The aspirant in an encounter with Saturday Vanguard at Agbor, stated pointedly: “He is a conservative and I am a progressive, his method of thinking is anathema to my own method of thinking. His behavior is unacceptable to me.”

Why we fought for Anioma gov in 2015

He admitted that it was because of the Anioma agenda that made him work for his emergence in 2015, but times have changed.

Dr. Cairo Ojugboh,

His words: “Yes, because it was an Anioma agenda to fight and see that an Anioma man became governor in 2015. The traditional rulers of Anioma came together, about 55 of them, gave me the chieftaincy title of Akinowa of Anioma and pleaded that whatever we do, we must secure the gubernatorial position for an Anioma son. In fact, the Asagba of Asaba singled me out to say that I am the ‘King of Truth’. I still remember vividly his address on that day that the entire traditional rulers in Delta north conferred me with that Chieftaincy title.”

“And with that in mind, we all sheathed our swords and said let us fight for Anioma, but I did warn them that the leopard can never change its spot, that Okowa can never change. And today, I have been proven right.

Okowa’s alleged sins

“I will not belong to a government where a governor will run government for two years without budget. I will not support a government when I know that the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC law in the state has been completely flouted. If I were the governor of Delta state today, I will obey the law of DESOPADEC and give the oil producing areas their due.

“Today, Okowa runs DESOPADEC from his pocket.    If I were governor, I would not enmesh myself with the scandal that is associated with the secretariat the government is building. A scandal that is unheard of.

He hollered: “These are the things that as an Agbor man, a humble Agbor man, I cannot work with him.    Look at our hospitals, they are in a mess and he is a medical doctor. The hospital where I was born, if you go there today, there is no power. Doctors carry out operations in the night with candle light, women and children are dying.”

Road projects

“Again, look at the issue of roads, the man has no project at all to show, he patches a pothole, he would say he has commissioned a road, you mean the government cannot even do a road, take the Lagos-Asaba road for instance, that road had been done, it was Uduaghan who did the road, but Okowa came one day and started putting road markings, the next thing, he was commissioning it as his project and that is what he is doing all over the state.

He will commission schools built by Uduaghan, this woman is still alive, this former Millennium commissioner, Ashikodi or so, all her projects under Uduaghan are what Okowa says are his projects and what has he done with our money. He has received close N1 trillion since he came into office, but people are suffering, civil servants are suffering and salaries are not paid.    I will not as a solider of truth join hands with such a person.”

“  If I talk, his people will say it is a hate campaign. Hate campaign because I am telling you the truth, this man has no capacity as governor. I say this because for two years, he has no budget; he was running the state as out of pocket expenditure process. Today, the budget of Cross River state is N1.4 trillion, Akwa-Ibom is N1.3 trillion, Lagos state is N1.6 trillion, Rivers state is N1 trillion, small Bayelsa is N600 billion, Delta state has smaller budget, what is he doing with our money?

Delta already mortgaged

“Delta is the highest earning state as far as federal allocation is concerned and yet we have the smallest budget because our internally generated revenue that will shore up our earnings cannot be accounted for. So with the internally generated revenue not accounted for, the little one that is reported, he has now gone to mortgage it for four years to a fictitious Asaba project. Is that the government you want me to belong to; is that you want me to team up with the man; I will not team up with corruption,” he said. .

The issue of no budget has been a recurring matter between you and the Okowa government, but the House of Assembly has consistently passed his budget in the last three years and a DESOPADEC Commissioner told me recently that the governor was not shortchanging the Commission, so are you sure of your information?

In 2016, 2017, there was no budget. When I raised the issue that there was no budget, he forgot 2016 and produced what is at best a fraud for 2018. The Isoko nation has been protesting that budget because there is nothing for anybody there; it is for his own personal use.

As a Deltan, are you saying that you are unaware that the Delta House of Assembly passed the 2016, 2017 and 2018 Budgets, which were duly signed by the governor?

What was presented to the House of Assembly in 2016 and 2017 was a budget summary, the body of the budget was not there. That is what I have been educating people. In 2018, he brought an empty budget summary. The budget summary is law, that is the most important thing, but like I told you before, the Isoko people looked at it and said there is nothing here in the document for us.

Now, the oil producing communities have not seen their budget for three years, nothing there.

Coming back to the secretariat project, Governor Okowa at his last quarterly meeting with reporters in Asaba, said that he was not the person doing the project through cronies as alluded, Saturday Vanguard informed him.

Ojougboh interrupted: “Which is a very big lie”, adding, “And let me tell you about that, the firm North China Construction Company has no business with the government of China. The governor was very economical with the truth. It is a purely Nigerian company. We took the name… go and check the name at the Corporate Affairs Commission and see the owners of the company. The company belongs to one man in the bank.”

“Chinese government has nothing to do with the ownership of the company.

What Okowa said

On the airport and secretariat projects, Governor Okowa told journalists:: “I do not    know how many of us have been to that secretariat that is being built, I am sure that you are proud of what is going on there. If Dr.Okowa has the competence to own a company to build that kind of project, I would be very proud of myself, unfortunately, I do not own such company.”

His words: “And the company is not hidden, it is a Chinese company, and those who went with us then saw the Chinese who are there. But I must commend the management because out of the over 160 people working on that site, only 11 of them were brought from China, the other 150 are Nigerians. And the level of organization, the quality of the work is something that we must be proud of, I am actually proud of them.”

“When they first came in, I was scared initially until we actually proved from their embassy that they were very competent, and truly with the speed, level of work and organization at the work site, they are actually people to be proud of. I am convinced from what I have seen at this stage that it is something that will come out well.
“Probably, I am part of the Chinese government because the company is Chinese- owned firm. If I have that level of connection in China, I am sure I would have been able to do much more for Deltans, I wish I could but I am not,” he said.
Ex-contractor of Asaba Airport in court
Speaking on the disagreement between the state government and ULO Consultants, the former contractor handling the Asaba Airport project, who dragged the government to court after his contract, was terminated, he said: “ULO asked for repudiation of contract and we did and gave it to somebody else. He is already in court with us. It is already a subject of litigation, so we have to go the full hug of the court.”
“We are aware that he owes us some money, but he said ‘no,’ that the state owes him. We have done our calculations and we know that he owes us. We will meet in court and we are quite convinced that it is only a matter that he will pay back our money,” the governor said.

Complete letdown
Despite the governor’s catalogue of achievements, Ojougboh commenting on how he rates Okowa’s performance, asserted: “In fact, if I am to rate him, it is zero. A man who cannot pay salaries, a man who is owing local government workers, a medical doctor who cannot put hospitals in the state in good condition. The only thing he does is to repair potholes and inaugurate them and that is what he is doing all over the place.”
“A man who says he has trained 3,000 people in skills’ acquisition while they are selling the kits and has now formed a cartel duping our people. His people organizing the cartel have sold the kits to the easterners. What else can you ask me to assess him, there is nothing to assess because he is a total failure,” he said.
Apparent support of APC leaders
Speaking on the noticeable support of his ambition by notable APC leaders on the state, he said: The position of APC leaders in Delta State is that anybody who is able to win the governorship primaries will be supported by the leaders and the party, especially persons of proven integrity. I am a democrat and soldier of truth, all my battles of life politically have not been about myself. They have been for the people and I did not even know that leaders have been following these events. I have come to notice that they appreciate the little I have been able to do and I thank God for that. Really, I believe I can govern the state and govern it very well and I thank the leaders of the party for their confidence in me and I will not betray it.”

Meetings with Kachikwu

On the meetings of Delta north governorship aspirants with the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, he asserted: “Delta north people are desirous of securing the next term of governorship in the state and they do know if they miss this opportunity and it leaves Delta north, it will be very difficult for another Delta north man to become governor in the state. Therefore, Delta north APC met to identify one so that they have interaction with other senatorial districts who will sit together and look at all the aspirants from the district and pick one person so that when they have interaction with other senatorial district, they can present their best to the other districts and that is what the meeting has been all about.    “About two to three meetings have been held in the house of the Minister of State for Petroleum. Not long ago, a meeting also held at the residence of Engineer Enuha at Ogwashi-Uku, where the Committee of Eight interacted with all the aspirants. Most of the aspirants were present and it was a very good meeting. The idea is not that the Committee of Eight is going to screen and present candidate, they just want to know the persons who are serious about their ambition and who to support during the primaries of the state so that we do not scatter our votes. That is exactly what that meeting is all about.

Delta north doesn’t have final say on APC Guber candidate
“To me, it is a noble idea and I support it.    However, it is the state that has a say on who becomes the candidate of the party, it is not the exclusive preserve of Delta north. It is not Delta North that will say this is our candidate, the candidate has to emerge from the entire state and in this regard, it is expedient that Delta north must meet and of course, the gathering of the aspirants, some persons do not particularly like it, but of course, brethrens must fellowship and for those who do not like it, I implore them to reconsider their stand because in this country especially, there are groups that are based on ethnic interest, religious , political objective. For instance you have the Ijaw Progressives Union, Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, Ohaneze Ndigibo, Arewa Consultative Forum, all manner of organizations useful to them.    So if Delta north decides to form a group because they have an interest to pursue, I believe they have the right to do so and it is constitutionally guaranteed- the right to free association,” Ojougboh said.

What Emerhor, Delta APC leader told us
What of the meeting with Delta APC leader, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor? He disclosed: “It also went very well, the idea of the meeting with the state leader; O’tega is to make sure that the campaign for the primaries by the respective gubernatorial aspirants is conducted in the most decorous way. He admonished aspirants to respect each other; he warned that he would not tolerate acts of brigandage or thuggery.
My 2009 protest against Uduaghan
Saturday Vanguard asked: You protested against former governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s victory in the PDP governorship primaries in 2006; will you keep to agreement in APC?
He responded: “You will recall in that particular incident that after series of meetings, the party met and I was told that my ticket back to the House of Representatives should be given back to me and I said no, that I told my people earlier that I would do only one term and we all would work for the party, PDP, to succeed.”
“Of course, protest is a democratic instrument but it must not be violent, intractable and unreasonable. There are methods of appeal, even going to court is a protest, which is why the court is established, it is for dispute resolution. If you are not happy, you have the right to appeal, the right to protest. This protest must be constitutional, civil and decorous. So that was what happened in 2006.
“This time around, if I do not emerge the candidate of the party, I will not go to court, I will not protest, I will adopt whoever emerges and work for the person. That has been my position, I am a party man and I believe that the party is supreme and of course, I have grown in the party politics in Nigeria.

I am experienced enough to know how a political party is run and I also know when I see booby traps in the process. Because of my experience, if I see booby traps, I will try to address them before people fall victim,” he said.
APC is my root
On the rumour that he is a strange bed fellow in APC and might soon return to PDP, he expressed amusement, saying: “Water comes from a source, when I joined partisan politics in 1998, I entered through the ranks of the progressives, I was a founding member and chairman of the Alliance for Democracy, AD, Delta state. In fact, that name AD was coined by my humble self in Abuja. So abi intio, my political orientation is progressivism, so if you say I have returned to my root, from the conservative PDP to the progressives, APC- that is correct. By action, manner and attitude, I am a progressive, so nothing will take me back to the conservative and corrupt system that PDP represents, I will never go back there.