Mr Chike Ogeah is the Delta State Commissioner for Information. In this interview with newsmen, he speaks on how the Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan-led Peoples Democratic Party government has impacted positively on the lives of Deltans and its various communities in the state. SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Sam Akadoro captured the interview. Excerpts:
Chike Ogeah
How has PDP fared in the state under the leadership of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan?
Like what is happening in the national sphere, the PDP is the only party in Delta State. Because of the sagacity Governor Uduaghan has brought into governance and the high level of equity and fairness, giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, he has in no small measure unified the party in Delta State.
There are three Senatorial districts in the state Delta Central, Delta North and Delta South. The Delta Central is basically the Urhobo, the Delta North is the Anioma people, and the Delta South comprises the Ijaw, Isoko, Itsekiri and even the Urhobo of Warri metropolis. These people like anywhere else would say that their spread is in diversity, but if diversity is not harnessed well to bring about that kind of unity, then one can start having excuses. It is just like the issue of who is going to be the next governor? Where is he going to come from? My people the Anioma believe that, based on equity, the next governor should come from the Delta North Senatorial District that comprises the Anioma. The Urhobo at the Central have had their own eight years and equally, by the grace of God, my governor would soon finish his own terms of eight years for the Delta South. Equity demands that it would now be the turn of the Anioma who are in Delta North.
How do you view the criticisms of Uduaghan by some individuals in the state for one reason or the other?
Well, I need to be very explicit here. Everyone can see that democracy is all about people struggling for more. In other words, we have different tribes competing among themselves, government is not on a large scale and resources are limited. It is all about judicious use and equitable distribution. This government has that in abundance and those that say this government hasn’t done well enough either in giving them what they crave for or giving other people more we always tell them to come forward to substantiate it. By the very nature of democracy, it is believed that the more noise one makes, the more one gets and many of them are just making this noise so that they can attract more projects to themselves.
Undoubtedly, every right-minded person would tell you that this government has surpassed every other government since the state was created. We listen to these criticisms since we do not claim that we know all, for only the Almighty God is all knowing. But the areas that we feel we haven’t done well enough, we put in more efforts. But a lot of them, I can assure you are idle criticisms.
What is your perception of the Rivers State political crisis and it’s implication on Nigerian democracy?
Rivers State political crisis has to be handled with care. The only confidence and comfort that I have on both President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Rotimi Amaechi are that both are practically from the same place. Bayelsa and Rivers states emanated from the same state before Bayelsa was carved out of Rivers State. We are really talking of issues between two brothers. One can imagine if the governor were from the North. Or if it were a northern governor with a south- south president or a south- south governor with a northern president. Any of these combinations would have been more volatile than it is today.
We also thank God that PDP, over the years, has shown the capacity to handle even more complex crises. PDP is just like a family; there is no way one wouldn’t have dissenting voices when a party is as big as PDP. Again, we are testing our constitution; a constitution is a living document and we have to put life in it. The Rivers State scenario has thrown up a lot of issues. For instance, we have now seen reasons for those who are calling for state police. And I am sure we now have to think twice. If there were issues of state and federal police in Rivers State, with what is happening, only God would have known what the situation would have been today.
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