As the nation prepares to usher in another political dispensation, with new leaders coming in to unveil new ideas and vision for the betterment of the people, Governor-elect of Delta state, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori and his deputy, Deputy Governor-elect, Sir Monday Onyeme, appears set to hit the ground running.
Inaugurating his Transition Committee, the Governor-elect, Rt. Hon. Oborevwori expressed his readiness to consolidate on the lofty development achievements of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and fast track a growth trajectory for Delta state.Speaking on capability of the Oborevwori/Onyeme team to move Delta state to the next level, Ugoesa Huxley Adiniebo Unumadu, the Izomo of Umuebu kingdom and Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Delta State Governor on Culture and Tourism Development, explained that in-coming administration of Rt. Hon. Oborevwori, would run a smooth government, following his expressed intention to consolidate on the achievements of the Okowa administration, and commence the implementation of a vision driven initiative to put Delta state of a fast growth motion.
He noted that the new administration scheduled to kick-off on May 29th, 2023, would have little challenge in implementing its growth agenda because his predecessor, His Excellency Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has drawn a strategic and vision driven template for Delta’s development renaissance.He also addressed the issue of the marginalization of his ethnic Ndokwa and the dearth of quality leadership and followership in Ndokwa nation and what is needed to be done to improve the political development profile of Ndokwa ethnic group in Delta state, with the advent of a new administration.
Below are excerpts of the interview with our reporter.
Question: Sir, with the on-going preparations to usher in a new administration on May 29, 2023 following the victory of Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori and Sir Monday Onyeme as the Governor-elect and Deputy Governor-elect in Delta state, what are your expectations from the new administration?
Unumadu: My expectations from the in-coming administration is more or less the expectations of the majority of the people of Delta state who voted massively, peacefully, transparently and intelligently for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) team of Oborevwori and Onyeme.
Our expectations are mush but I don’t expect any difficulty from the new Sheriff in town, because fortunately for Deltans, the two men are insiders in the political equations that facilitated the legendary and superlative achievements of the Governor Okowa’s administration from 2015 to 2023.
The Governor-elect is the Speaker of the distinguished legislative arm of the Delta state government, while the Deputy Governor-elect, Sir Monday Onyeme is the immediate past Chairman of Delta State Internal Revenue Board. So, you see, both men know, understand and participated in the internal engine room of the Dr. Okowa’s administration.
The Delta State House of Assembly, under the leadership of Oborevwori, played highly significant and commendable role in supporting the vision of the Governor to drive his development agenda for the state within the past eight years.The peace, security and infrastructural development achievements of the Governor Okowa’s administration was made possible by the supportive role of the legislature, who saw and embraced the vision of the administration to make Delta state the reference point of good governance and vision any leadership and the result is the greatly improved life of Deltans, when you compare what’s in the state today with what’s obtainable in other states of the Nigeria Federation. Now what’s on ground is today’s Delta state is what’s needed to be consolidated on, as it has been expressly stated by the Governor-elect during the inauguration of his transition committee on the 2nd of May, 2023.So, you see, we Deltans are very positive, optimistic, and expectant of a renewed Delta state that is more peace, more united, more secured and more endowed with a great deal of developmental infrastructure which promises to place the state on the global view, for tourism development, foreign investment, industrialization and a peoples welfare agenda that is first of its kind in our country. When have this mindset of expectation because we know the governor-elect have acquired the requisite experience and has a visible level of confidence and courage to walk his talk. The Governor-elect, as speaker of the House exhibited a high degree of commitment and determination in the discharge of his responsibilities to the admiration of the masses.
Question: What is your take on the person of the Deputy Governor-elect Sir Monday Onyeme, for the coming administration in Delta State?
Unumadu: Sir Monday Onyeme, our Deputy Governor-elect is a calm, confident, friendly and highly cerebral gentleman. Rt. Hon. Oborevwori, the Governor-elect of our dear Delta State should expect a loyal and supportive deputy who is highly admired in the state, especially by his people of Ndokwa ethnic group because of his philantrophy, openness, humility and peace loving nature.If I’m asked what we should expect from the Deputy Governor-elect in the incoming Oborevwori administration, I would first of all, tell our Governor-elect to expect a very loyal, humble and peaceful intellectual, who will support the vision of the Governor-elect and contribute to the actualization of the agenda of his boss – the Governor-elect.Sir Onyeme is highly admired by our people – of Ndokwa nation and to the larger population of Delta state, he is an acceptable people-oriented political leader.
Question: Do you think his emergence as the Deputy Governor-elect to the in-coming administration in Delta state amounts to a political benefit to your people of Ndokwa ethnic group in the political equation of the state?
Unumadu: I will say yes – to a certain extent. To the extent that our people of Ndokwa nation will be able to gather behind him and give him the necessary support that he needed. Let me tell you. There is what we call bad leadership, much as there is bad followership also. If we want a leader to lead well, then we, the followers must follow well also. As the highest political office holder in Ndokwa nation today, Sir Monday Onyeme is automatically the political leader of Ndokwa now.
That is the simple reality. So, it’s now left for us to come together, in unity, and rally behind him.I once led a media team to interview Hon. Mrs. Mercy Almona-Isei, during her days in the house of representatives. I think that was during her second term at the reps.
Then the issue of Ndokwa marginalization at the state and the federal levels came up. I remember we accused her of ineffectiveness and inability to move fast enough and attract development to Ndokwa nation which she represents.
She brought the issue of bad followership to her defence.She explained, angrily, that Ndokwa political and community leaders were undermining her office, position and influence because of her feminine gender. Their attitude towards her position as the representative of our Ndokwa land was so bad that it amounted to her isolation. A situation where she will call for a meeting and invite critical stakeholders and they will fail to attend is purely a good case of isolation. When that occurs, we should then know and expect her leadership position to be weakened.
Don’t be surprise when we begin to hear that some of our political leaders begins to go behind the deputy governor-elect, to the governor-elect to tell lies against the deputy governor-elect, in order to discredit him before the Governor-elect.
The politics of pull-him-down (phd) is the greatest undoing of our (Ndokwa) political class and it’s the greatest cause of the political marginalization of our land.If we discredit our leaders instead of supporting them, we put them in a weak position to defend and protest our interest, and when our interest is not strongly protected, then we put ourselves in vulnerable position to be marginalized.
This the reason why bad followership inspire bad leadership and the people, on the ground becomes the victims and the losers. This is the bane of Ndokwa political growth. And this downward trajectory of our development can only be reversed when we, the people, learn to follow well, submit our loyalty and support to our leaders who we elected to lead us. So I’m using this opportunity to appeal to our people to stand firm behind political leaders and follow them with loyalty, commitment and dedication, so they will gather the moral courage to be more patriotic to our land and fight for us. This is the way I see it.
Question: As your tenure as Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Culture and Tourism Development ends this month May 29, 2023, what are you looking at in the in-coming administration in the state? Are you lobbying for any appointment?
Unumadu: God in every section of my life. God decided this position. I believe in the Almighty God for my future. Only God can decide my next move. On my own, I believe I will move forward, because “Chukwueike” All powers belong to God.