Utomi particularly accused
the former governor and some ‘elements’ in previous governments where he also
served as the Secretary of the State Government of sabotaging several efforts
by him in the past to contribute to the development of the state.
The feud between immediate
past governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, and renowned political
economist, Prof. Pat Utomi, on Sunday worsened as the Lagos based economist,
came hard on the former governor, saying Uduaghan left a sad legacy as governor
of the state.
Uduaghan, while reacting to
an earlier statement made by Utomi which was published in Sunday PUNCH told the
economist to contest the post of councillor in his ward, instead of aiming to
be the next governor.
But making further clarification
to comments in a press statement sent to our correspondent on Sunday, Utomi
challenged the former governor to render account of his stewardship including
the abandoned Independent Power Project in Oghara that gulped over N20bn under
his administration with nothing to show for it seven years after.
He said, “While I agree
with the former governor that our conversations of today should focus more on
the future than the past, we must recognise that the damage done to Delta State
by the mismanagement of its finances and resources still plague the state as we
speak. Uduaghan’s legacy is a sad reflection of this awful chapter of our
history.
“My comment on optimal
debt-to-revenue ratios is verifiable and those who have the ability to do the
mathematics are all over the place. It
was a comment made to draw attention to and prevent the worsening of a problem
that is still ongoing; because in spite of the bailout funds from the Federal
Government, and the huge windfall from the Paris loan refunds which now stands
at over N24bn, the Delta State House of Assembly has approved over N18bn as
loan for the Okowa administration this year alone. In fact, a N13bn plus loan
request was recently made to the Delta State House of Assembly.
“Deltans need to be aware
and decry this type of heavy debt burden, especially as there are no
commensurate development projects or programmes on the ground to justify it and
to aid repayment in future. Governor Okowa was right to raise an alarm about
the over N600bn debt that he claimed to have inherited. He has however
proceeded to increase this debt burden by over N60bn of his own. This is only
further mortgaging Delta State and the future of our children.”
He also debunked some
allegations made by the former governor accusing him of abandoning and not
contributing to committees he was appointed to chair during his administration
and not using his international and national connections to attract development
to the state.
Utomi said, “A good
councillor would have done much better for the people than Uduaghan did as
governor. There is extreme misuse of the opportunities available to Delta
State. It will take a serious and truly capable government to vigorously tap
its potential and create jobs for our teeming youths. This is one of the many
reasons why I believe Delta State needs new political leadership in 2019.
Deltans are not meant to suffer from the jeopardy of a clueless administration,
especially at this critical phase of our existence.
“I would have imagined that
Uduaghan will be very sober and saddened by his legacy of mismanagement and
gross wastage that he left behind in Delta State. Trying to spin his poor
record in the hope that Deltans would have forgotten so soon is a failed
attempt to rewrite history. Undoubtedly, he knows that only few Deltans speak
well of him and it is his pain to struggle with that reality.
“ As he grapples with
history, what is more important to Deltans today is how we can rectify the
wrong policies, decisions and actions of the past, so that we can create a
government that would not only meet the needs of our people today but guarantee
a better life for successive generations.
“This is the task that I
have offered to commit myself to between now and 2023. We are looking forward
to 2019 with hope and renewed zeal for the beginning of a ‘New Delta’ teeming
with opportunities and alive with possibilities.”
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