Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has maintained that he had been fair in the distribution of appointments, describing as untrue allegations that his appointments were lopsided.
A statement, by his Chief Press Secretary, Charles Ehiedu Aniagwu in Asaba, at the weekend, noted that the attention of Okowa had been drawn to publications in the press, allegedly promoted by some members of the opposition, faulting the manner of distribution of appointments and the governor’s leadership style since assumption of office on May 29 this year.
He said: “The promoters of the publication captured their misgivings in phrases such as: “Dr. Okowa is going ahead to reward his cronies with hundreds of appointments all in a bid to further plunder our common patrimony. A government that takes care of only civil servants and government political appointees tampered with the moral and economic fibre of the oil bearing communities, DESOPADEC.”
Aniagwu added that the governor would not have elected to join issues with the promoters of the said publication but for his deep appreciation of the role of the opposition in keeping the ruling party on its toes. He, however, advised that opponents should criticise with some level of decorum and deference to facts.
He said that the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) amendment law, which the governor proposed, was duly passed by the lawmakers who saw the need to restructure the commission.
The amendment, he insisted, was to enable the body to have a management team that would see to its day-to-day running for efficiency. This feat, according to the governor, had been applauded by Deltans who saw the measure as injecting a new lease of life into the commission.
“Only a fortnight ago, Okowa swore in the last batch of commissioners, bringing the number 25 local government areas in Delta State and each is represented by a commissioner in the State Executive Council. That is how equitable Okowa has been in the distribution of commissionership posts; ditto other appointments,” the spokesman added.
Tracing the reason for the outburst, he said: “It is instructive to note that politicians who had hoped to make the list of commissioners or other positions; on seeing the inauguration of the last batch of commissioners turned foes overnight. Their resort to cheap blackmail under the guise of pseudo associations are nothing but expression of their aspirations to hold political positions in every government. For the avoidance of doubt, Senator Okowa’s team is the leanest in the history of the state since 1999,” Aniagwu stressed.
