OBARISI (BARR.) OVIE OMO-AGEGES OPENING STATEMENT AT HIS GUBERNATORIAL CONSULTATION MEETING WITH FORMER PDP LOCAL GOVERNMENT CHAIRMEN HELD AT OLEH ON IST JUNE 2014. Over the past few weeks, I have been giving a great deal of thought to running for governor of our great state in 2015 under the platform of our great party PDP. After a careful and persistent consideration, what began as a thought has now become a course of action that I wish to pursue. Hence I have decided to consult with you and solicit for your support. 1. You deserve the honour of being consulted at this early stage because you are the men in touch with the rank and file of the party and the grass roots, the heart and soul of the PDP without whom we cannot achieve victory. Some of you here are founding fathers of this our great party in Delta state who have made enormous contribution to our party and state. 2. I have worked together with most you here in the past to deliver victory for our great party which has enabled our party to build a solid foundation on which we can further develop our state. So I know your electoral value not only as delegates but as mobilizers with huge followership in your various local governments and communities. You have supported me through thick and thin in the past and I am looking forward to your continuing support and advice. 3. Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has achieved a lot for our state in the past 7 years in the areas of infrastructural and human capital development and security which have been the policy thrust of his administration. Because of our governors forward looking decisions and investment in critical sectors of our state we enjoy a better quality of life today and the chance to build a better future for ourselves and our children. 4. Kidnapping, robbery, communal conflicts are down. Our schools are being refurbished and upgraded into model schools with state of the art facilities such as internet services. Maternal mortality rate is down to 224 deaths per 100,000 births to become the first state in Nigeria to attain Goal 5 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) due to free medical services for pregnant women in our state. We also have Free Rural Health Care scheme, 62 specialist and general hospitals including a World class Delta State University Teaching Hospital in Oghara. There is now an international airport in Asaba. An Independent Power Plant and a Delta Leisure Park are under construction. The dualization of Ughelli – Asaba, Ugbenu-Koko, Effurun – Osubi – Eku, Old Lagos - Asaba roads are ongoing. 5. I am proud of Governor Uduaghans’ record and his desires to even do more and finish stronger in the remaining period of his tenure. But there is still much to be done to realise the Delta state of our collective dream. The challenges will face going forward are enormous. We all know these challenges because we face them everyday in our daily lives. Unemployment, general insecurity, corruption, rising food prices, housing shortage, broken marriages are some the challenges we must overcome. 6. My earned experience in government as Executive Assistant to the Governor, Commissioner for Special Duties, Government House and Secretary to State Government and the years out of government since 2007 gives me a unique understanding of these critical issues of our time and I intend to implement a pan Delta agenda that offer viable solutions that especially reflect the collective views and wishes of all Deltans rather than those of special interests. My focus will be on how we build a Delta state of our dream with jobs and opportunities for every resident in every community. The goal is to strengthen our families and revitalise our communities. 7. I envision a more dynamic and brighter future for Delta state and believe that, through collaborative and inclusive efforts, all of us irrespective of where we come from or the language we speak can make this possible. 8. This is not my campaign, it is the peoples campaign and we are going to inspire a public conversation on how we can have a strong and stable economy, a secured and strong society, a cleaner environment and a new kind of politics to create the jobs we so badly need. Erecting these four pillars of the Delta state of our Dream on the foundation laid by the Uduaghan administration will be the focus of my administration if I am given the rare privilege to serve the good people of Delta state in the next four years. 9. But we cannot erect these pillars until we diversify our economy from the oil and gas sector to agriculture and agro-allied industries, tourism, entertainment and sports as envisaged in the Delta Beyond Oil programme of Governor Uduaghan; modernise and expand our infrastructure, restore law and order, provide community policing services, affordable housing, deliver improvements in quality and capacity in our health care system. We also need to refocus marriages and strengthen our families, empower our youths and women, redevelop and beautify our cities and towns as well as change our politics. 10. Doing all these will not be easy. But I believe it is do able. That is why I have decided to join the race and I am fully prepared to win to take up the unfinished business of building a Delta state of our dream which started in 1999. 11. I cant do it alone. But with all of us working together as a team, we can. We can transform our state to the level thought impossible and through this living example make the opposition completely irrelevant in Delta State. Each and every one resident in Delta state whether you are an indigene or not, have a role to play in determining the course and direction of its future, while it is the responsibility of the next governor to articulate a vision for the entire state and all of its residents. 12. Todays consultation with you is just the first of a series that will stretch beyond the campaign and into the period of the new administration when we are successful. You can count on me that I will carry all of you along all through the long campaign process and after we have secured victory. 13. With the Grace of God upon us, I am convinced that we will prevail in the primaries and the general election if we work together. 14. Thank you. God bless you and our state. OBARISI (BARR.) OVIE OMO-AGEGE
Posted on: Sun, 01 Jun 2014 22:01:33 +0000