Tinubu echoes Omo-Agege’s stance that Oborevwori’s priorities in Delta are wrong – says aide

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has given vent to the accusation against Governor Sheriff Oborevwori that he lacks any developmental roadmap for Delta State, Sunny Areh, media adviser to Senate Ovie Omo-Agege has said.

In a press release following the President admonition to governors to cease building flyovers that have no impact on the well-being of their people, Areh noted that for many months, Omo-Agege, the Deputy President of the 9th Senate, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) senatorial flagbearer for Delta Central senatorial district, had been the lone but patriotic voice questioning Oborevwori’s of the ₦3.5 trillion revenue received from the Federation Account since June 2023.

At a time the people of Delta were reeling from the challenges inflicted by the debilitating state of the economy, Omo-Agege asked why Oborevwori focused on building just flyovers while Deltans go hungry, live in insecurity, remain unemployed, and struggle to survive.

“For speaking this truth, he was attacked, insulted, and dismissed by the Delta State Government and its vast army of media aides”, Areh stated.

The text of the statement reads:
“This week, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made comments that speak directly to Senator Omo-Agege’s concerns.

“Receiving traditional rulers from Oyo State at the Presidential Villa on Thursday, President Tinubu told governors to stop prioritizing building flyovers, and to instead channel their now-vastly increased federal allocations into roads and infrastructure that improve citizens’ quality of life and give security agencies faster access to vulnerable communities. He noted that states are now receiving four to five times what they used to get — meaning there is no excuse for governors to be misapplying public funds.

“That is precisely the concern Senator Omo-Agege has been raising about Delta State”, Areh noted.
According to him, President Tinubu admonition draws an umistakable parallel with Omo-Agege’s charge on Oborevwori’s absence of a developmental template.

“Truth Has No Party. You do not need to wear the same jersey to speak the truth. Senator Omo-Agege spoke as a Deltan who feels his people’s pain. The President’s own words now echo that same concern, on a national scale.

He stated that Oborevwori’s administration is a story of misplaced priorities.
“₦177 billion for flyovers in Warri, Effurun, Ughelli and Agbor — yet our Primary Health Centres lack drugs, our schools are understaffed, and insecurity is escalating across Delta. Concrete cannot cure sickness. Steel cannot feed a hungry child. Deltans deserve to know: do these projects meet the traffic and impact test the President himself has now set for governors nationwide?”

On demands for accountability from the Delta State government, he said “if the President believes governors nationwide are under pressure to justify infrastructure spending against real impact on citizens’ lives, Delta should be no exception. Deltans deserve a full, audited account of the ₦3.5 trillion claimed to have been spent. What has it delivered to the ordinary man in the village?

“The MORE Media team spent months attacking Senator Omo-Agege for raising concerns that now sit at the center of national conversation on state governance. That tells you everything about their priorities.

“Let it be said plainly: governance is more than spending FAAC allocation to build flyovers. Governance is measured in functioning hospitals, teachers in classrooms, safety on our roads and in our communities, and opportunities for young people to work and thrive. A government that cannot show these outcomes has failed, no matter how many bridges it commissions.

“We, therefore, call on Governor Oborevwori to, with immediate effect:

*Subject all flyover and infrastructure projects to a transparent public-benefit and traffic-impact review;
*Publish full details of all expenditures under the MORE Agenda, and
*Prioritize healthcare, education, security, agriculture, and direct economic support for Delta families, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda.”

Areh said “Delta does not need more photo-op projects. It needs leadership that measures success by the lives it touches, not the ribbons it cuts. Under the leadership of Dr. Chris Iyovwaye, NDC’s governorship candidate for Delta State, and Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, our candidate for Delta Central, the NDC will provide that leadership — one that puts people first, concentrates resources on projects that genuinely improve the livelihood of ordinary Deltans, and holds every naira spent to the simple test: does this make life better for the man in the village, the trader in the market, the child in an under-equipped school?

“History will record that Senator Ovie Omo-Agege stood with the people of Delta and spoke truth to power when it was inconvenient to do so — and that the conversation now unfolding at the national level only reinforces the urgency of that call.

“Delta deserves leadership that puts people before concrete.”

Signed,
Sunday Areh
Media Adviser to Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, CFR, KSJI