PAULICAP Eseoghene Okpara has at different served as supervisory councilor for Finance, Works and Environment and later Health. He hails from Eku and had his first degree from the Delta State University, Abraka in Business
PAULICAP Eseoghene Okpara
Administration. In this interview with SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, John Dugbe, the astute politician bares his mind on variety of issues ranging from what Eku community has benefited so far from Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan’s administration for the past seven years and other issues as it bothers on local and state government. Excerpts:
There was a solidarity rally held in Eku community, what would you say led to that rally?
The solidarity rally held in Eku recently was to show to the general public and the Peoples Democratic Party PDP that Eku community is a home of PDP. We embark on that rally to also show our commitment and appreciation for the Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan that we are appreciative of the numerous developmental projects he has brought to Eku community and to assure him that the community is strongly behind his administration.
Can you highlight on some of these projects that his government had done that had necessitated this massive rally for the Uduaghan’s administration?
Let me tell you that we have never had it so good before now but by the divine grace of God, Eku has started seeing the beauty of democracy through the administration of our amiable government, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan. Before now Eku hospital was being run by the missionary and after the missionary had left, the hospital started depreciating in terms of manpower and performance, so the community decided to take over the running but they could not do anything until they cried to the state government who listen to their cry and came for rescue and today the Eku hospital has bounced back to its former glory with medical doctors, nurses and other health workers and all these were the handwork of His Excellency, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan. Again, about thirty years ago there is this Ethiope River that demarcated Eku from Edo state because Eku people are predominantly peasant farmers they have to cross to the other side of the river to fetch what they eat and for commercial purposes and in one of their crossing, the boat they were crossing with capsized and killed over fifty persons, since then it has been a big challenge to our people on how to find solution until the community again cried to the listening governor who immediately approved the construction.
As we are talking now the project is ongoing and by the grace of God the bridge that linked Eku and across the other Eku villages is about 70 percent completed and most of the food stuff comes from the across Eku villages to the market, so you can see the benefit the bridge will give to Eku and its surrounding communities because the Eku market serves as the major market in the whole area. A lot of people in Ethiope East, not only Eku people are also beneficiary of the bridge construction because a lot of people from other part of Ethiope East are employed since the commencement of the construction work and this wouldn’t have bee possible if the state government had not approved the construction of the bridge. Also, the PDP government had also engaged good numbers of Ethiope East people in the cleaning of their communities and other special work across their local government area as a way of empowering them through the State Employment and Expenditure for Result (SEEFOR) and it is quite clear that the SEEFOR workers are drawn from across the local government for the empowerment exercise. Also before now all our primary and secondary school buildings are in dilapidated state but since the assumption of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan’s administration, we can testify to the fact that numerous construction and rehabilitation work in some of these primary and secondary schools have been completed while some are ongoing. If you take a look at Aganbi primary and secondary schools, you will see that both are wearing new face and this has added a face lift to both schools, so, you will not hesitate to appreciate the Delta State Governor for a good work. Another primary school called Madedor is presently under construction and also, Iweh primary school has been awarded and all these were from the Delta State government and these are things we have not experienced before, so we are appreciative of government presence in Eku. Eku before now had not had good road network but as we speak now all parts of Eku community have been tarred by Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan’s administration and these roads are major link to all parts of the state. And also recently the state government took this micro credit scheme to our door step in Eku community to boost the welfare of the people without monthly interest. It was this same government who made one of our own Chief Kenneth Okpara as Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning, first time in the history of Eku community that our own is in the state executive where decisions are being taken. This is a position that almost every community in Ethiope East has at one time or the other had but in Uduaghan’s government that we were given such cabinet position and wouldn’t have any option than to say a big thank you to the man that has raised us to this enviable height. I want to make bold to say that Eku community has become the envy of other towns in Ethiope East, trying to paint the community in a bad light and peddling unnecessary rumour in and around Eku by some persons and other political parties that Eku is not a PDP community but we have that explicit confidence on the administration of Uduaghan’s government and this will show during the forthcoming local government election that Eku community is a home of PDP and they should stop this unnecessary rumour of pull him down syndrome.
There is this rumour that the Labour Party is waxing stronger in Eku community, how true will you confirm this?
This cannot be true, you see, how can you mention Labour Party in Eku when it does not exist because before now we use to have what we called DPP but it is already dead, which all its members had left for PDP, though there could be one person or the other just making noise and that is what they are now mistaken for Labour Party and we don’t have such members of another party in Eku. The few we know of that parading themselves as Labour Party are not from Eku community, they came from other community like Okpe to come and destroy the community for us and we will not be ready to accommodate such people and we shall prove it during election.
How would you score Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan since his inception of office seven years ago?
You see, nobody doubts things you see with your naked eyes and those are the practical things the government of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has had on ground if you take time to go round the state, you will see a lot of massive infrastructural developmental projects and as l speak if you visit Asaba and Warri, you will not be told before you start appreciating the administration of the government. Is it from the health sector, education, security, empowerment or where, the Uduaghan’s administration has done much that he should be given kudos for his land stride developmental projects, mostly if you come to think of his recent initiative of Delta Beyond Oil. He has performed wonderfully and if l have to score him like you have said, l will not hesitate to give him 99 percent, though to some people, l may be wrong but quiet what l have seen, l don’t have any doubt about him and his achievements so far across a complex state like Delta. The Delta State Government’s initiative of Delta Beyond Oil if l must tell you is taking us somewhere through as it has made a lot of Deltans self employed instead of relying on government to do everything.
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