THE OKOWA REVOLUTION 1.

Okolo Hessington Chimennma

It was the inimitable revolutionary and philosopher that stated that "Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it." And it is obvious to all and sundry even the doubters amongst us that the incumbent Delta State Governor, Sen. Dr Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, has dicovered his mission and happily is fulfilling it in the years he has held sway as Governor of the state.

Dr. Okowa was sworn in as the fourth democratically elected (and the third in the current democratic experience) on May 29 2015. In his inaugural speech, Dr. Okowa signed a contract with the people of Delta State with his S.M.A.R.T policy agenda. The governor at his inauguration had “outlined a five point agenda encapsulated in the acronym SMART which means; Strategic Wealth creation projects and provision of jobs for all Deltans; Meaningful peace building platforms aimed at political and social harmony; Agricultural reforms and accelerated industrialization; Relevant Health and Education policies; Transformed environment through urban renewal”. This SMART agenda is anchored on his campaign slogan of "Prosperity for all Deltans" and in the years he governed the state, the people of can attest truthfully that indeed Dr. Okowa has strived to bring prosperity to all parts of Delta.

A look at the education sector will show that the Okowa administration has strived to uplift the poor infrastructure it inherited from the out gone adminstration. It is said that education is the bedrock of any society and I daresay it is the bedrock for a prosperous society.

It is obviously for this reason that Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa has taken a keen interest in upgrading the education infrastructure. Upon assumption of office, the Okowa administration formulated a technical and vocational oriented education policy with the objectives of boosting literacy, expanding quality education and developing skilled people.

This is why one of the very first bills the sent to state Assembly by Okowa was the technical and vocational education bill which was meant to help revamp and fast track technical education in the state.

The government of Okowa has done a total reconstruction of the state-owned technical colleges in Agbor, Ofagbe and Sapele and has upgraded facilities in the other three technical colleges in Kwale, Ogor and Issele-Uku. Technical education is obviously at the core of the educational policy of the Okowa administration which is based on his belief that technical education will aid self reliance of our teeming youths. The Okowa government has also embarked on the reconstruction of primary and secondary schools across the state.

Another area the Okowa administration is stamping it's feet in the sands of time is the health sector. On assumption of office Governor Okowa had immediately sent a bill on contributory health insurance scheme.

The Scheme commenced in Delta State on the 1st of January 2017 with Pregnant women and Children under 5 years of age who are the most vulnerable members of the society. As at 31st of July 2017, over 71,000 pregnant women and children under 5 years have been enrolled and are receiving service under the Scheme in Delta State Government healthcare facilities.

Also Infrastructural upgrades have been going on in all levels of care training institutions across the 3 Senatorial Districts, including primary health care, secondary health care and School of Nursing.

I will be x-raying the fulfillment of Okowa in line with his pact with Deltans. As a man who talks less and do more, Okowa whose sobriquet is Ekwueme has gone ahead to begin a silent revolution in all facets of the life of Deltans. Okowa needs the support of all Deltans to achieve more as he has consistently promised on his campaign trail, and as a man who has fulfilled his first pact with Deltans it would be easy to trust him again with our mandate for another four years.

Hessington Okolo is a lawyer, Deputy Legal Adviser to the Delta State PDP, equal rights activist, political commentator and the self styled Rt. Hon. Speaker of the Masses Assembly.

all these parties starting campaign so late are actually indirectly telling Nigerians that they have SHORT MEMORY!