Delta Commissioner for Information, Chike Ogeah, in this interview with OKUNGBOWA AIWERIE, speaks on the developmental strides of the Uduaghan administration and government’s commitment to finish strong and other sundry issues
What will you say is the highlight of the Uduaghan administration in the last seven years?
The most important thing is the peace we are enjoying and everyone seems to take it for granted. Without the kind of peace and security that prevails in the state from his second tenure we will not be talking about the kind of development both in infrastructure, human capital development and other major programmes espoused by this administration. Maybe because one cannot concretise peace, people take it for granted. At the onset of Uduaghan’s tenure in 2007, Delta State was becoming like Rwanda as brothers were taking up arms against brothers: the Warri crises was rife, militancy was going out of control. If not for a leader like Governor Uduaghan and one or two others from the South/South, the Boko Haram crises would have been a child’s play compared to what militancy would have done to Nigeria.
Boko Haram is affecting the northern part of the country and endangering our brothers in the north; they have our daughters as captives and all the other terrible things that are going on but you can imagine all that and the crippling of the economy of the country in the case of the Niger-Delta militants if the leaders of the Niger-Delta, of which I know that Uduaghan was one of the principal actors, did not move in decisively, at the risk to their own personal lives.
Peace is the most fundamental achievements of this government. Other achievements are infrastructure and human capital development. In the area of infrastructure, we can see evidence across the three senatorial zones. We can talk about the mega projects like Oleri Leisure Park. Government has done all it is supposed to do in terms of providing the environment, reclaiming the marshy terrain site of the park, even the bridge leading to the project. These projects have a long gestation period but the important thing is that the template has been laid, same with Warri Industrial Park.
In providing this kind of environment, that is how we were able to provide the environment that attracted the federal government to invest in the largest gas city in Africa- Ogidigben Gas Plant and these projects are capable of transforming the economy of Delta to becoming the biggest economy in West Africa. There is also the capital territory in Asaba, which is just a few minutes away from Onitsha, the economic hub of the South-East. Delta State has an airport built strategically to maximise the economic benefits Onitsha provides. The airport serves the whole of the Eastern flank, and parts of Edo State. The Asaba Airport is incredible. I, as an aviation person, gave the airport a gestation period of ten years before it becomes viable, but I was looking through statistics from FAAN, which says the airport is becoming the most viable airport in the country. Delta State is the only state with two airports in the country and which is to open the state for industrialization and based on the three point’s agenda, the whole idea is to move Delta State beyond oil. When we talk about ‘Delta Beyond Oil,’ we want to look at the areas we have comparative advantage and diversify our economy. We have attempted to link up the two economic zones by attracting merchants from the Eastern parts to use our airport. This upswing in the economy owing to the building of an airport has impacted on other areas like hotels, manufacturing, and landed property. Land has become such a scarce commodity in Asaba. We owe all these rapid development to the airport because we have opened Delta to the world. Also, there is an ICT Park being built. What I think this government has done is that it has laid a solid template for the industrial and economic base of the state. If detractors had allowed Governor Uduaghan work without all those distracting litigations, Delta State would have surpassed today’s achievements.
Despite these achievements you have listed, Deltans are worried that many of the projects you mentioned are under construction and may not be completed by the Uduaghan administration. We mean projects like Warri Industrial Park, Ughelli-Asaba dualization project, ICT Park in Asaba, Koko Free Trade Zone (KFTZ), how do you respond to this?
Let me tell you something, you do not understand the frustrations government goes through. The reasons we have this issues are legion. Budgets are expectations of revenues which we use to plan for a certain period. Maybe you have a rolling plan for four years, then you have a yearly budget and you have laid out everything based on anticipated incomes. Do you realise that since this government came on board, our revenue has dwindled to almost 45percent loss in revenue from the federal allocation? A lot of the communities where our projects are sited are bogged by restive youths; there was a time when these youths were kidnapping workers building our roads projects. That is the reason why I expressed gratitude for the relative peace we are enjoying now. These youths do not understand that these projects are meant to add value to their lives. Thirdly, sometimes desperate contractors under quote and by the time the jobs are given to them they fail. But government should have been alive to their responsibility and know that contractors are under quoting for jobs. Yes, we have technical people looking at these contracts, but government will instinctively go for the lowest bidder. These reasons may not be enough in themselves, but I am trying to avert your mind to some of these reasons. The projects which the state is doing under PPP are outside the control of government, especially when government has done all it is supposed to have done. Also some of the projects this government has embarked on take several budget cycles to complete as all the money in the state cannot be diverted solely to one project. We still have to pay salaries, pensions and other bills. When you put all these things together, yes, we have derivation fund but take the Trans-Ode-Itsekiri road with over 19 bridges. Do you know how much it takes to build a kilometre of road in those swampy terrains?
You have talked about the infrastructure development programme of government, but you still find some long running projects, e.g DLA road project in Asaba with over a billion earmarked, Okpanam road project, Asaba Drainage Project.
In your question, you have answered everything, because you used some critical words. You used earmarked and you talked about drainage. These key words are the answers to your question. On the DLA road project, I can assure you that all the moneys have not been committed because it is not just there. I know that that road has been receiving special attention and it is moving at the fastest pace it can move. The DLA and Okpanam roads, but more especially, Okpanam road, the issue there is about drainage, government made the mistake of tarring the road and what happened? I think there is a fundamental error that has been made in Asaba as so many natural drains have been blocked due to buildings.
It is so complicated and that is what government has been trying to sort out. Even if we do not do the road before we leave, we need to sort out that drainage issue so that we can channel water coming from Okpanam under control. The Uduaghan administration will solve this issue before it leaves office. Maybe some drastic action will be taken on some of these edifices.
