Complaints of non recognition and shabby treatment by the administration of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa by traditional rulers and Christian religious leaders was one of the protests that greeted the Delta State Deputy Governor, Barrister Kingsley Otuaro causing him a humongous embarrassment on his very first outing as Acting Governor of Delta State.
 |
| Governor Ifeanyi Okowa. |
A series of unplanned and obviously simmering
incidences connived
to create an awkward situation of what was a well intentioned event, during the
flag off of
the National Social Safety-Net Programme (NAPPS) stakeholder and
sensitization meeting held on Friday, July 15, 2016 Social Safety net
programme in Delta State.
Signs that things may not go according to plan, as is usually
Signs that things may not go according to plan, as is usually
 |
| Kingsley Otuaro, Deputy Governor of Delta State. |
synonymous with a government organized event, in the absence of
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, who was away on a two-week
vacation, manifested with the very opening prayer delivered by Bishop
Diamond Emuobor, who in his well refined baritone voice, like one under the
influence
of the Holy Spirit, informed God in the prayer, that
though most of
the people gathered with him in Unity hall, Government House, Asaba,
were ignorant of the nature of the programme, God should give the
leaders, who initiated the Social safety net project, the wisdom and
political honesty to accomplish it, unlike other such programmes,
which had failed woefully in the past.
The comedy of errors then commenced, when the Deputy Governor went dramaturgical, and took to
the podium, after some belaboured and vaguely unimpressive
explanations of the Social safety net programme, including the
N.power, free feeding for primary school children and the Conditional
cash transfer schemes, by first Mr. Mohammed Brimah, from the Office
of the Vice President and then Mrs. Shimite Bello, Executive
Secretary, Delta State Micro, Small and Medium enterprises Agency, as
well as focal person for the programme in Delta State.
Otuaro, who was usually laconic, dour and vocally uninspiring in
previous occasions he had chaired as Deputy Governor, suddenly
exploded into a bundle of vibrant, voluble, over-expressive energy,
pumping the air with his fists, genuflecting expansively and
delivering a comical campaign style lecture on the SMART agenda, as
though even he was just beginning to understand the concept, one full
year after he was sworn-in as Deputy Governor and needed to go through
the long and tedious explanation to a bored and enduring audience, who
probably were already tired of hearing that prosperity for all Deltans
mantra in the very harsh present economic conditions.
Compelled obviously by the need to impress Otuaro in his showy melodrama shocked many in the audience, with his
SMART lecture, then proceeded to stumble through the delivery of his
written speech, which received a loud applause from a stunned,
including Mr. Sunny Koto, the Master of Ceremonies, thus prompting a
top politician to retort that, “He talked like a militant. Delta is
surely in trouble if he, by accident becomes Governor in future”, he
retorted ruefully.
Otuaro’s day was to become more eventful, when he was further
embarrassed in quick succession, during the goodwill messages, first
by His Royal Majesty Pere S.P.Luke, Kalanama VIII, the Pere of
Akugbene Mein Kingdom, in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State,
who accused the Delta state government of lack of transparency, deceit
and double standards in the selection of beneficiaries for the job
creation YAGEP and STEP programmes of the Delta state government.
The well-educated, sophisticated and fearlessly vocal Pere, addressing
Ag. Governor Otuaro, on behalf of Delta state traditional rulers,
said, “The Delta state government had called us together and gave us
forms to distribute to persons in our communities, assuring us that
they would rely on our list to select those to benefit from the job
creation programmes, but we were shocked when the list came out only
to discover that most of the people we nominated were not even on the
list. The government deceived us traditional rulers into believing
that we were important only to disgrace us when the list came out. We
have been invited again under the same pretext that we are important
and we hope and pray this new Federal programme will not be like that
of the state”, the Royal Father appealed.
Then it was the turn of Bishop Emuobor, who accused the Delta State
government under Governor Okowa of neglecting the religious
constituency when it came to selecting those to benefit from
government welfare programmes. He said, “When you are in crisis and
need spiritual guidance and prayers, you quickly run to us to pray for
you, but after using us to seek the face of God to intervene in your
matters, you either forget us, abandon us or relegate us to the
background when it comes to selecting people to benefit from what
rightfully belongs to everybody. It is our hope that the clergy and
religious community will be treated with more respect and given more
attention in the future”, he echoed.
The final installment of embarrassment for Otuaro was when the Delta
State market women association was called upon to give their goodwill
message and pandemonium broke out right before the Ag. Governor, when
two factions of the union almost came to blows, over a N21million loan
facility already disbursed to a faction by the office of the Delta
State Micro, Small and medium enterprises agency.
Appeals by the MC, Mr. Sunny Koto to the warring parties to respect
the presence of the Ag. Governor fell on deaf ears, as they proceeded
to use the opportunity to air their views, and even the assurances by
Barr. Otuaro and Mrs. Shimite Bello, that the government would address
the grievances of both the Traditional rulers and religious leaders,
as well as the market women, whom the government holds in high esteem,
was too little too late, as the embarrassment of Barr. Otuaro’s first
activity as Acting Governor ended in a near fiasco.
Many people who aired their views after the ceremony, were quick to
opine that such a thing would never have happened if Okowa was
presiding and Otuaro was quite unfit to handle the reins of
government, if things could break down so uncontrollably in his
presence, but most disturbing was the conclusion that the allegations
expressed by the traditional ruler and the religious leader were clear
indications of the disappointment, deprivation and marginalization
that Deltans are now feeling since Okowa became governor of Delta
state and the presence of Otuaro as Ag. Governor had provided them
with the much needed opportunity to tell the Okowa administration that
both his SMART agenda and prosperity for all Deltans slogan is a
deceptive agenda and has been empowering only those few selected
persons close to him at the expense of the rest of the people of Delta
state.
the people gathered with him in Unity hall, Government House, Asaba,
were ignorant of the nature of the programme, God should give the
leaders, who initiated the Social safety net project, the wisdom and
political honesty to accomplish it, unlike other such programmes,
which had failed woefully in the past.
The comedy of errors then commenced, when the Deputy Governor went dramaturgical, and took to
the podium, after some belaboured and vaguely unimpressive
explanations of the Social safety net programme, including the
N.power, free feeding for primary school children and the Conditional
cash transfer schemes, by first Mr. Mohammed Brimah, from the Office
of the Vice President and then Mrs. Shimite Bello, Executive
Secretary, Delta State Micro, Small and Medium enterprises Agency, as
well as focal person for the programme in Delta State.
Otuaro, who was usually laconic, dour and vocally uninspiring in
previous occasions he had chaired as Deputy Governor, suddenly
exploded into a bundle of vibrant, voluble, over-expressive energy,
pumping the air with his fists, genuflecting expansively and
delivering a comical campaign style lecture on the SMART agenda, as
though even he was just beginning to understand the concept, one full
year after he was sworn-in as Deputy Governor and needed to go through
the long and tedious explanation to a bored and enduring audience, who
probably were already tired of hearing that prosperity for all Deltans
mantra in the very harsh present economic conditions.
Compelled obviously by the need to impress Otuaro in his showy melodrama shocked many in the audience, with his
SMART lecture, then proceeded to stumble through the delivery of his
written speech, which received a loud applause from a stunned,
including Mr. Sunny Koto, the Master of Ceremonies, thus prompting a
top politician to retort that, “He talked like a militant. Delta is
surely in trouble if he, by accident becomes Governor in future”, he
retorted ruefully.
Otuaro’s day was to become more eventful, when he was further
embarrassed in quick succession, during the goodwill messages, first
by His Royal Majesty Pere S.P.Luke, Kalanama VIII, the Pere of
Akugbene Mein Kingdom, in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State,
who accused the Delta state government of lack of transparency, deceit
and double standards in the selection of beneficiaries for the job
creation YAGEP and STEP programmes of the Delta state government.
The well-educated, sophisticated and fearlessly vocal Pere, addressing
Ag. Governor Otuaro, on behalf of Delta state traditional rulers,
said, “The Delta state government had called us together and gave us
forms to distribute to persons in our communities, assuring us that
they would rely on our list to select those to benefit from the job
creation programmes, but we were shocked when the list came out only
to discover that most of the people we nominated were not even on the
list. The government deceived us traditional rulers into believing
that we were important only to disgrace us when the list came out. We
have been invited again under the same pretext that we are important
and we hope and pray this new Federal programme will not be like that
of the state”, the Royal Father appealed.
Then it was the turn of Bishop Emuobor, who accused the Delta State
government under Governor Okowa of neglecting the religious
constituency when it came to selecting those to benefit from
government welfare programmes. He said, “When you are in crisis and
need spiritual guidance and prayers, you quickly run to us to pray for
you, but after using us to seek the face of God to intervene in your
matters, you either forget us, abandon us or relegate us to the
background when it comes to selecting people to benefit from what
rightfully belongs to everybody. It is our hope that the clergy and
religious community will be treated with more respect and given more
attention in the future”, he echoed.
The final installment of embarrassment for Otuaro was when the Delta
State market women association was called upon to give their goodwill
message and pandemonium broke out right before the Ag. Governor, when
two factions of the union almost came to blows, over a N21million loan
facility already disbursed to a faction by the office of the Delta
State Micro, Small and medium enterprises agency.
Appeals by the MC, Mr. Sunny Koto to the warring parties to respect
the presence of the Ag. Governor fell on deaf ears, as they proceeded
to use the opportunity to air their views, and even the assurances by
Barr. Otuaro and Mrs. Shimite Bello, that the government would address
the grievances of both the Traditional rulers and religious leaders,
as well as the market women, whom the government holds in high esteem,
was too little too late, as the embarrassment of Barr. Otuaro’s first
activity as Acting Governor ended in a near fiasco.
Many people who aired their views after the ceremony, were quick to
opine that such a thing would never have happened if Okowa was
presiding and Otuaro was quite unfit to handle the reins of
government, if things could break down so uncontrollably in his
presence, but most disturbing was the conclusion that the allegations
expressed by the traditional ruler and the religious leader were clear
indications of the disappointment, deprivation and marginalization
that Deltans are now feeling since Okowa became governor of Delta
state and the presence of Otuaro as Ag. Governor had provided them
with the much needed opportunity to tell the Okowa administration that
both his SMART agenda and prosperity for all Deltans slogan is a
deceptive agenda and has been empowering only those few selected
persons close to him at the expense of the rest of the people of Delta
state.
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