Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa and his cabinet have been described as lacking vision and proactive leadership qualities to rescue the state from its present economic mess.
All Progressive Congress (APC) group in Delta State under the aegis of Rescue Delta Media Group (RDMG) in a statement by its leader, Dr Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe made the assertion in a release sent to The SUPREME email. It claimed that the state executive council performed below expectation in terms of sound economic policies and enthusiasm required to revamp the state dwindling economic status occasioned by reckless looting and financial mismanagement by previous and present administrations.
The group also alleged misappropriation of funds by the leadership of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC).
The statement further added: “It is very shameful that Gov Okowa paid deaf ears to numerous cases of sharp practices at DESOPADEC and Ministry of Basic Education where cases of alleged financial crimes were reported.
“It is expected of a proactive governor to quickly set up panel of inquiries to look into any kind of allegation and thereafter inform the citizens of its findings, this way confidence is established between the government and the governed.
“We are also pained that the governor did not use the May 29 Democracy Day events to throw more light on the financial status of the state in terms of the followings:
1. Total amount of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for the period under review;
2. Proactive steps or measures taken to tackle corruption and the gains realized so far from such exercise since May 29 last year;
3. The debt profile of the state within the period under Okowa’s scorecards; whether or not the state is solvent or insolvent, the total amount of debts to be serviced, et al;
The group also expressed dismay over the governor’s silence on issues bordering on high tax rates particularly the N135,000 annual Okada operators license fees, private schools annual operators renewal fee which was raised from N45,000 to N150,000, the over 120% increase in Undergraduate and Postgraduate fees and tuition at the Delta State University among other vexed issues which has made life unbearable for the ordinary citizens of the State; and Oghenesivbe urged the state governor to explain in details how he managed the State and local government federation joint accounts and support same with audited report by external auditors.
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