Gov. Uduaghan In The Eyes Of PS, Tony Obuh IT is not customary for an employee to write a ‘testimonial’ of a boss but for a hard-core and hardworking civil servant, who since 2003, has been closely working with the Executive Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, variously as a director in the Office of the Secretary to State Government (SSG) and when Dr. Uduaghan turned Governor, Tony later became Permanent Secretary, Government House and Protocol; indeed, he must know the Governor too well. Anthony Chucks Obuh, an Agbor-born young man, now 53, is a ‘shy’ and soft- spoken civil servant, whose carriage and humility marks him out as a quintessential bureaucrat, whose performance over the years, has endeared him to working with Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, a medical doctor-turned-politician who has found Mr. Anthony Obuh a perfect mix of hard work and diligence. In my recent series on persons who are closely thinking of continuity after the finishing strong of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, it seems many of them are enthusiastic to vie for the position of Governor come 2015 but for Tony, he dwelled on the governor’s good deeds since knowing him. Since civil servants should be seen and not be heard, so, this little chit-chat was motivated by the fact that the person closest to the Governor, by his office, apart from his wife, is the current Permanent Secretary, Government House and Protocol; and he ought to know so much about the qualities of the governor and this piece is about Mr. Tony Obuh’s ‘testimony’ of his boss. What manner of man is Dr. Uduaghan since you had worked with him since the days of his SSGship in 2003 as director then. Hear him: “my impression of Dr. Uduaghan is guided by my experience with him over time. He believes in law and order; always playing by the rules which we call due process. I met him first in 2003 as a director in the SSG’s Office. He came in as a politician and although politicians have their own approach to governance side, he was different and working side by side with career civil servants; usually, politicians want to brush aside the civil servant but from time to time, it was even he who brought my attention to the provisions of the rules.’’ For Mr. Tony Obuh, the Permanent Secretary, Government House, he averred that ‘’ Through that period up to now, the level of stability we have in the state and made politicians and public officers to show greater respect for the rules and has brought stability to the public service itself.’’ Mr. Tony Obuh, seen in many quarters, as the eyes and ears of the governor, seem to wield tremendous ‘influence and power’. What makes him to be so meticulous in taking actions of public policy implementation when under militarised climes, certain issues would have been done with immediate effect and fiat? Tony Obuh proffers answers. Hear him: “without any doubt, the governor reads a lot when it comes to considering matters referred to him and he takes time to read from page to page, including memos sent to him to educate himself before taking the right decisions. He would highlight several portions of the memos and do cross-referencing of files before him to take the final decisions.” According to Tony Obuh, the governor is meticulous in taking decisions. Some observers were persuaded that that the governor appeared to have exhibited even greater energy and speed. What happened for this sudden burst of energy as more fruits of democracy are being delivered? “The second term burst of energy of Governor Uduaghan did not mean that he was not working before”, Tony Obuh said. “During the period, the governor was steadily articulating his work plans, dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s. Tony Obuh said that physical structures would not have been on the ground if the Governor was sleeping.’’ Today we are reaping; we are reaping the fruits and benefits of meticulous planning by the governor. Even ordinary state functions; the Governor participates in the whole process, from planning to the implementation stages and takes you through the whole programmes, items by items. According to Tony Obuh, It is somebody that can easily be referred to as A man with a lion’s heart . And people without that make-up cannot embark on such projects, the size and quantum of the projects- Asaba International Airport, the Ughelli-Asaba dual carriageway, the Warri Industrial Park, Koko-Ugbenu highway, Ode-Itsekiri roads and bridges, model primary and secondary schools, health facilities and hospitals across the state, too numerous to mention. “He is man with a great feeling for humanity, even in the SSG years, he spent his private money for people who were medically-challenged”, Obuh recalled.“The man is God conscious and spends a lot of resources in the service of God; he is equally passionate about education and health matters and all these will outlive him and put his name on the sands of time.” “As an Uduaghan watcher who had worked him for 11 years, from 2003 to date, can he see all those aspirants wanting to take over from him 2015 matching his projects as possible successors to Government House?” Mr. Tony Obuh, a hard-boiled civil servant was quiet for a while and did not want to comment on the “contenders and pretenders’’ for 2015. Hear him: “I cannot comment on that being a civil servant. It is a fact of history that his tenure will come to an end one day and somebody will succeed him. For the size of the shoes relative to the capacity of the successor, it is only posterity that can judge that.’’ It was an illuminating chit-chat with Mr. Tony Obuh, who for all practical purposes, runs the Government House as a disciplined civil servant whose administrative capacity has been excellent. It is, perhaps, too early in the day to say where he will be in 2015; will he bow out with his boss, only time can tell and the time is now. OBUH, go into the treasure house and give to us the joy of democracy come 2015. As you journey with Deltans as our choice come 2015,government house is your portion.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 09:47:13 +0000
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