My Government Will Remain Transparent – Okowa

Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa has come out to reiterate that he is determined to keep upholding the principles of fiscal discipline and transparency in governance.

He recently revealed this in a broadcast on his six years stewardship as Governor of the state, and Nigerians have been reacting.

According to him, his government will keep improving its efforts to complete all ongoing projects before his reign comes to an end.

He added that exactly six years ago, he began the journey of building a smart, strong and resilient Delta State where every resident is empowered to chase success and happiness, and he is proud to be achieving that.

His words, “Exactly six years ago, we began the journey of building a smart, strong, and resilient Delta State where every citizen is empowered to pursue his/her dreams of success and happiness.”

“To achieve this goal, we formulated the Delta State Medium-Term Development Plan (2016-2019) encapsulating policies and programme priorities designed to accelerate infrastructural development, reduce the worrisome high level of youth unemployment and pervasive poverty, stimulate and sustain inclusive economic growth, and bind the diverse ethnic nationalities into a unified, coherent force.”

“With great joy and gratitude to God, I am pleased to report that we have made more progress than was thought possible. We can even begin with this stadium where we are presently gathered. For over a decade before my assumption of office, this facility was decrepit. However, within three years of this administration, it was fully rebuilt and transformed.”

“Since 2015 when we came on board, this administration has been confronted with two major crises; the economic recession in 2016/2017 and the COVID-19 global pandemic that practically grounded the economies of the world.”

“However, we were able to stay afloat because we limited our expenditure to revenue limits, prioritised the funding of programmes/projects based on their socio-economic value, and strengthened the Economic Intelligence Unit in the Ministry of Economic Planning as the due diligence outfit of the government.”

“I am aware that the new prudential guidelines may not have gone down well with some people but it was for the greater good of all; as responsible leaders and citizens, it behooves us to always put the collective interest above our personal interests.”

“The Public Finance Management Bill and the Audit Bill, which are in the final stages of legislation are expected to solidify the regulatory foundations for sound public finance management in the State.”

“These instruments will help to achieve a more robust planning and budgeting system aligned to an overall macro-economic framework, medium-term sector strategies, and performance-based budgeting. They will enhance transparency, as well as strengthen statistical capacity to improve data collection and management for evidence-based planning and performance evaluation.”

“With the goal of Prosperity for All Deltans, we knew from the onset that we had to take swift and decisive actions on the issue of youth unemployment.”

“With the goal of Prosperity for All Deltans, we knew from the onset that we had to take swift and decisive actions on the issue of youth unemployment.”

“The large army of unemployed graduates and secondary school leavers, aside from wallowing in abject poverty, was a clear and present danger to the peace and security of the state.”

“As an administration, we were clear what needed to be done; equip these young people with the requisite technical know-how, vocational skills, values, and resources to become employable and self-employed. To drive this process, we established the Technical and Vocational Education Board and created a Special Purpose Vehicle, the Office of the Chief Job Creation Officer.”

“After six years, we can be proud of the progress we have made in this regard. The Technical and Vocational Education Board has been integrated into the new Ministry of Technical Education created by this administration, while the Office of the Chief Job Creation Officer is now known as the Job and Wealth Creation Bureau by Law of the government. Meanwhile, other interventions in the sector have come on stream in the second tenure of this administration.”