FRI, MARCH 16 2018-theG&BJournal-The ongoing efforts by Delta State Government to interface with deltans at the grassroots continued yesterday [16-03-18] with the town hall meetings in Bomadi and Ughelli, as Governor Ifeanyi Okowa urged communities seeking to have kings to follow due process and avoid heating up the polity with their agitations.
The Governor who was commended by leaders and stakeholders for the even spread of infrastructural developmental projects in the state reeled out projects executed by his administration in the areas, emphasising that apart from the provision of infrastructure, the wealth creation programmes of his administration have received national and international recognition because of its success stories.
According to him, a lot of youths who were unemployed prior to his emergence as Governor have become entrepreneurs through the wealth creation programmes that are currently, receiving partnership with the United Nations.
He also, urged Deltans to key into the compulsory health insurance scheme of his administration, disclosing that it will save those who are in need of funds when they are ill the trauma of sourcing for funds.
Reacting to agitations for new kings in Bomadi, Governor Okowa urged communities seeking to have kings to follow due process and avoid heating up the polity with their agitations. asserting that “It is a long process to have a King, you must follow due process, it is not achievable through violence,”
The governor affirmed that the town hall meetings has afforded him the opportunity to see first hand the level of development in the state and the challenges facing the various areas, promising to utilise the 2018 and 2019 budgets to tackling the developmental needs facing the people.
On backlog of pensions, the Governor said, “the problem we are having with the pension scheme is called, past services, it is a huge amount of money, it runs into over N50 to N60 billion, what we are doing is to make money available on monthly basis, every month, we spend about N1.1 billion on pensions, I don’t know of any state that is paying as much apart from one state.”
Chairmen of Bomadi and Ughelli North local government areas, Hon. William Angadi and Hon. Godwin Adode respectively, including traditional rulers and representatives of different groups thanked Governor Okowa’s administration for the spread of projects across the state.
