By Festus Ahon
On Wednesday, May 29, 2024, the administration of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori clocked one year, and, as it is customary in Delta State, a praise-and-worship day was organised to appreciate God for His unwavering and uncommon blessings of the administration in the state.
Despite a few challenges like the Okuama crisis and the Governor surviving 38 court cases to consolidate his election as the state’s chief executive, the last one year has been memorable with landmark projects dotting the nooks and crannies of the state.
Speaking at the praise – and -worship day celebration held in Asaba, Governor Oborevwori said that the past one year of his administration had been a remarkable story of promises made and kept, assuring that better days lay ahead for Deltans in the second year of his government.
Governor Oborevwori noted that his administration had kept faith with his promises to Deltans through his MORE agenda in the last one year, and urged the people to expect more and brace up for an exciting adventure in his administration’s drive for the transformational development of the state.
He remarked that his administration was already fulfilling his promise to restore the lost glory of Warri and its environs, adding that construction giant, Julius Berger, was constructing three flyovers and a Cloverleaf, Interchange and road expansion in the twin cities of Warri and Effurun.
He said: “I have kept faith with the people of Delta State. The fair, objective, and realistic way to judge political leaders is by evaluating them by the promises they made while running for office.
“I promised, while seeking your support during the electioneering campaign, that I will urgently address the issues of unpaid promotion arrears to both serving and retired state public servants and the protracted issue of pension liabilities in the local governments.
“Within three months of assuming office, I fulfilled these promises. Regarding the promotion arrears, we paid over N5.5 billion to 23,887 serving and retired public servants, along with the reinstatement as well as the remuneration of promotion arrears for 362 retired officers.
“To the glory of God, the thorny issue of unpaid local government pensions was speedily resolved as promised. My administration helped to secure legislative approval for the local governments to obtain a N40 billion bank loan to enable them to liquidate their backlog of pension liabilities.
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“It is worthy of note that, as part of our administration’s desire to fast-track the rebuilding of the city of Warri and environs, we have also completed the reconstruction of Upper and Lower Erejuwa and the Esisi road corridor, even as work on the other adjoining streets is progressing as scheduled.
“When these projects are fully completed, they will radically change the landscape of Warri and environs, while tackling the perennial problems of traffic congestion in the axis”.
On security, he said Delta was judged the safest state for oil and gas investments in Nigeria in 2024 at an award ceremony sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Abuja, and pledged to continue to partner with security agencies to guarantee the continued safety of lives and property of Deltans.
In the area of social welfare, Governor Oborevwori said thousands of Deltans have benefited from the MORE Grant Scheme and D-CARES, and promised to do more.
Governor Oborevwori, who commended his predecessors in office for their support, urged them not to relent in contributing to the growth of the state.
Prior to May 29, Governor Oborevwori had, on Sunday, attended a thanksgiving service at Living Faith Church, Asaba, to mark his administration’s one year in office.
Speaking at the thanksgiving, Governor Oborevwori said that his administration had turned the state into a huge construction site, adding that his emergence as Governor had the divine touch of God.
The Governor said that, in spite of the strident opposition he faced as an aspirant and eventually flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2023 governorship poll in the state as typified by 38 legal challenges to his aspiration, his administration had turned the state to a potent construction site with a total of 317 projects across the state.
He said that out of the 317 road projects, 76 of them, spanning 171.49km and 85.30km length of drains, were initiated by his administration in the last one year.
CUPP/IPAC commendation, Confidence Vote
The Coalition of United Political Parties, CUPP, and the Inter -Party Advisory Council, IPAC, in Delta State, have both commended Governor Sheriff Oborevwori for turning the entire state to a construction site within one year of being in office.
At a joint press conference in Asaba to critically appraise Governor Oborevwori’s one year in office, IPAC Chairman in the state, Prince Henry Eze, and his CUPP counterpart, Chief Efe Tobor Josiah, congratulated Governor Sheriff Oborevwori on his one year anniversary and thanked him for his efforts at connecting communities with roads and bridges for sustainable development.
Eze, who briefed on behalf of the two groups, said the most iconic of the infrastructural projects was the award of a N78 billion contract to Julius Berger for the construction of three mega flyover bridges, a cloverleaf and road expansion works in Warri and Effurun.
Prince Eze commended Governor Oborevwori for being workers-friendly by paying the backlog of over N5.5 billion promotion arrears to civil servants and also facilitating the payment of N40 billion to local government pensioners and retired primary school teachers.
The CUPP and IPAC leaders also hailed Governor Oborevwori for providing palliative measures to cushion the effects of subsidy removal on workers, widows, vulnerable groups, and the aged and vulnerable segments of society.
Tribute to late Asagba of Asaba
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori was among the guests who graced the memorial mass in honour of the late 13th Asagba of Asaba, HRM Professor Joseph Chike Edozien, CFR in Asaba, the Delta State Capital on Friday.
Speaking at the memorial service held at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Asaba,
Governor Oborevwori, while condoling with the people of Asaba, urged them to emulate the legacies of the late centenarian monarch whom he described as a man of peace and an erudite medical scholar.