By Fred Akpewe, Wilberforce Arinze and Grace Akaighe
It is certainly disingenuous for anyone to query the utilization of funds that accrue to Delta State from the Federation account judging by the avalanche of projects and human capital programmes flying all over the place
Delta State is a state like no other in Nigeria. Some call it a microcosm of the Nigerian state.
MANY CITIES
Delta state parades several cities unlike many other states that have only one city. In Delta State alone we have cities like Asaba, Warri, Effurun, Ughelli, Sapele, Agbor, Kwale, Ozoro , Oleh, Orerokpe, Obiaruku- all competing for their fair share of the state resources
EDUCATION
Delta state is the only state in the Federation that has as many as 4 state universities- the southern Delta University at Ozoro, the university of Delta at Agbor, Delta state University Abraka and the Dennis Osadebay University Asaba. These universities are fully funded by the state government.
Delta state has the highest number of Technical Colleges in the Federation with some others still under construction. The state has two Polytechnics; one at Ogwashi- Uku , another at Otefe- Oghara. The state also operates two colleges of education at Warri and Mosogar
The state has 1130 public Nursery/ Primary schools and 462 public Secondary schools.
HEALTH
The state is upgrading and re-equipping about 150 Primary health centres and 64 General hospitals, all funded by the state government.The state contributory Health Insurance scheme has over 2 million enrollees.The state maintains a school of health technology at Ufoma Ughelli and the another one approved by the Oborevwori administration at Ovrode in Isoko North LGA.
Delta state maintains schools of nursing and or midwifery at Agbor, Eku, Warri, Asaba and Sapele
Delta state has a specialist hospital in Asaba and another ( Central hospital) at Warri. These two hospitals are well equipped with modern CT Scan machines and dialysis machines
The contributory insurance health scheme in Delta State guarantees free health care for pregnant women and under 5 children in its government hospitals.
ROADS AND BRIDGES
Delta state under Governor Oborevwori is a huge construction site. The state government is undertaking the construction of multiple bridges and road
expansion projects across the 25 LGAs
The administration has undertaken over 513 road projects covering more than 1500 kilometers and accompanying drainage systems spanning 950 kilometers.
The Oborevwori administration inherited some projects which are being vigorously implemented. Some of these projects are the 146 kilometers Asaba – Ughelli expressway, the Trans Warri – Ode Itsekiri Road and 19 bridges, Kwale – Beneku Bridge, the Ayakoromo bridge, the Orere – Ewu bridge amongst others. Also ongoing are huge storm water projects at Warri, Effurun, Ugolo and Owa Alero and its surrounding areas.
This Administration completed and commissioned the six floors High Court complex with six well furnished court rooms in Asaba. The Oborevwori administration has completed and commissioned the phase one of the Emevor – Orogun Road (awarded the phase two of the road) and completed the construction of the ibusa- Okpanam by -pass.
In an unprecedented move, the Oborevwori administration recently approved projects worth N275billion to be accompanied with 40 percent mobilization to contractors at a single EXCO meeting
HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT
Governor Oborevwori supports Delta state students in tertiary institutions through the Students Special Assistance Scheme ( Bursary awards). In November 2024, he approved N713 million for the 2024 bursary, benefiting 32,038 students across various public and private institutions. Earlier in March, 2024 the state government disbursed over N674 million for the 2022/2023 bursary assisting 30,116 students nationwide.
Also the state government under Oborevwori’s watch has given assistance to Deltans in the Nigerian law schools. Government has also paid the sum of N3.55bn as counterpart funding for the 2024 Universal Basic Education(UBE) and would continue to do so. The D-CARES programme has been expanded from 36,000 to over 250,000 in less than 2year. This is in addition to programmes like the MORE Grant scheme, the MORE Biz up , WESAP( Women Empowerment Skill Acquisition Programme) which has so far empowered women and persons living with disabilities. All these programmes gulp billions of Naira of state funds
Government has also provided 6,000 farmers with imputs and financial assistance just as government is aiming at raising 50,000 agropreneurs in collaboration with ADP- NEPAD partnership programme for agricultural development,
STATE CIVIL SERVICE
Delta state government maintains a civil service of about 50,000 personnel with its workforce on a minimum wage of N77,500 per month.The Delta state civil servants are among the most motivated in the country .
As at September, 2024, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori had disbursed over N14.5 billion to fulfill various pension obligations to state retirees. In addition, the administration has settled approximately N5.5 billion in promotion arrears for state civil servants
OTHER AREAS
The state government spends a lot of money on sports development by providing equipment and training that makes Delta athletes always coming tops in National Championships games.
The state government also commits money in Arts and culture and also in providing succour to widows , the aged and persons living with disabilities. Government maintains a fully equipped Delta State Traffic Management Authority ( DESTMA). We must not also forget that Governor Oborevwori recently donated 31 new operational vehicles to the Police and other security agencies to strengthen their operations.
CONCLUSION
The administration of Oborevwori has been applauded several times for prudence and transparency in government spending. The Governor has achieved milestones without borrowing a kobo to finance his projects. The Governor has established a policy of fairness to all local government areas by ensuring that N2.1 Billion worth of internal road projects are allocated to the 25 local government areas without prejudice to the global project distribution in the 2025 state budget
With all these glaring evidences how can someone in his right senses , especially one aspiring to govern Delta state in future now pretend that he does not know what the Oborevwori administration is doing with monies from the Federation account?