Ifeanyi Okowa, Delta State governor, has urged political office holders to apply decorum in their utterances to avoid heating up the polity.
Governor Okowa gave the advice in Asaba during the swearing-in ceremony of 17 new commissioners.
Those sworn into the Delta State Executive Council are Fidelis Tilije, Lawrence Ejiofor, Barry Pere Gbe, Julius Egbedi, Churchill Amagada, Arthur Akpowowo, Martin Okonta, Charles Aniagwu, Ifeanyi Egwunyanga and Mordi Ononye.
Others are, Ovie Oghoore, Emmanuel Amgbabuba, Gbubemi Ikolo, Matthew Tsekiri, Christian Onogba, Omamofe Pirah, and Henry Sakpra.
The governor was reacting to a statement credited to a prominent politician who used the media to castigate his administration for not granting his (the politician’s) request to nominate a commissioner.
He said that political leaders were expected to “show some level of decorum in whatever they say or do because I am not the kind of man that wants to be dragged into arguments with our leaders because I have a lot of respect for them. But when some leaders go off course sometimes, it is important to put things in the right perspective.”
According to him, “It is truly unfortunate that one of our leaders has been insulting the office of the governor on the pages of newspapers and on social media; it is very unfortunate that this type of situation took place and I wish that the criticism was based on real facts, but, I do not think that the criticism was on a mistake on my part, because, the fact that a leader makes a request to appoint a commissioner and it is turned down is not enough for such a leader to go to the newspaper or social media to criticise the government of Delta State.
“More so, when such a leader by all standards and from all available information in the state cannot be said to have contributed enough to say the kind of things that he has said on the newspapers.”
“Only yesterday, my attention was drawn to the fact that he has asked the government to account for the monies we have received in the last four years and I think that Deltans appreciate the much we have done within the limits of the resources we have and I am aware that in Burutu Local Government alone, a lot has been done and will still be done. Just a few weeks ago, the Vice President of this nation was in Burutu to commission the Obotobo 1 and Obotobo 2 to Sekebolo to Yokri road which is a 20.76km road for which our people were happy.
“Only last year, we commissioned the Burutu township roads and I know that the people in Burutu town and the local government area are very happy with the jobs; and I am aware that the road moving from Tuomo to Torugbene is on-going as I speak,” Okowa said.
He said he was aware that they were continuing the bridge in Ayakromo and so many other projects that they are undertaking, adding, “Such a person from that local government is asking us to give account. I will say that I will want to start to give the account from his local government area and I urge him to tell us what he used his position to do for the people of Burutu.”
Okowa, who congratulated the 17 commissioners, urged them “not to succumb to such negative emotions as complaining, grumbling and murmuring, as this administration will strive to ensure that all who have laboured in the past and especially during our electioneering campaigns will be rewarded one way or the other, if not by appointment but through some other means and I plead with Deltans to be patient with us as we navigate our way through this process.”
