The newly sworn-in Governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, on Friday pledged unalloyed support to the newly inaugurated government of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Governor, who said his administration looks forward to a robust working relationship with the All Progressives Congress government at the federal level, also wished Buhari a flourishing era as President of Nigeria.
In his inaugural speech at the Cenotaph in Asaba shortly after former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan handed over to him and the oath of office was administered on him and his deputy, Barrister Kingsley Otuaro, by the Acting Chief Judge of the state, Hon. Justice Marshal Umukoro, Okowa officially congratulated Buhari.
He said: “I wish to formally congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari on behalf of our people. I look forward to a robust working relationship with him and the Federal Government. We offer our sincere cooperation and partnership for the collective development of our nation.”
In driving the initial process of governance, Okowa on the spot forwarded three executive bills to the state House of Assembly for urgent consideration.
They are the Delta State Contributory Health Commission Bill (2015), the Technical and Vocational Education Board Bill (2015) and the Asaba Capital Development Agency Bill (2015).
According to him, the Bills will as a matter of urgency rapidly consider the development of the state and provide employment opportunities for the youths.
He said he would block every area of financial leakage to prevent waste but boost the Internally Generated Revenue of the state.
“We shall put great emphasis on enhancing our revenue generating capacity by ensuring that all eligible taxable adults and organizations are brought within the tax net and all leakages blocked, without necessarily creating further hardship in the family economy,” he said.
Mindful of the challenges of the dwindling receipts from the Federation Account, he warned politicians in the state to esteem merit over mediocrity, performance over favouritism and unity and nepotism.
He said: “In view of the pan-Delta mandate that brought us here, we cannot afford to do any less. Therefore, beginning with me, every politician appointee and public official in this government is expected to regard the entire state as his constituency and work for the common good.”
Okowa promised to tackle all past contentious hostilities, resentments and animosities, give strength to the state’s Oil Producing Areas Development Commission and restructure the Board and Management of the Niger Delta Development Commission through an amendment Bill anchored on his SMART agenda.
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