How lack of master plan, absence of political will, and others derailed Okowa’s administration (Part II)
By GbaramatuVoice Editorial Board
Aside from the Governor’s lack of political will to develop master plan for the state development which was well deliberated on the first part of this commentary, another major factor that fueled Governor Okowa’s failure in the past seven years as Governor of Delta state is the caliber of people around him-particularly his media aides.
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The reason for the above opinion is simple. Media aides as we all know are Public Relations Managers. Also, the newspaper’s understanding of public relations professionals, going by the Mexican Statement definition involves “analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling organization leaders, and implementing planned programmes of action which will serve both the organization and the public’s interest”.
But enough evidence abounds that instead of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences and counseling the Governor, Okowa’s media aides have come notorious for falling back on data that is hardly objective, generating inferences that can never be described as explicit and conclusions they reach are usually self-serving.
They encourage divisiveness, uphold autocratic tendencies, promote media trial of political opponents and misconstrue objective comments from development professionals.
Take as an illustration, some months ago, Inside Niger Delta with Mamode Akugha, criticized the Delta State Government for abandoning Asaba-Ugwiashi-Uku- Ugheli reconstruction project which Governor Okowa inherited from the previous administration.
Instead of responding to the kernel of the report via objective analysis in order to spot whether the report was lacking in merit, the Governor’s media men beginning with the State Commissioner for Information, the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, among others, called a press conference. During the ill-conceived press briefing, they told the world that Mr. Mamode Akugha cooked up the report because he submitted a proposal for a contract with the state government and the state turned down the offer.
Aside from wasting the state government’s money and time in the name of addressing a press conference, the State Commissioner for Information and the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary failed to tell the journalists the level of work that the Okowa led administration has done on the road in question.
Even at that, the truth is that today, a tour of that road will tell who is being economical with the truth; Mr. Akugha or the State Government?
From the Newspaper’s assessment of the level of work done so far on the road project, it is evident that Okowa will not deliver the road project before leaving office. It is certain! Let him prove the GbaramatuVoice wrong by completing this long overdue road project on or before May 29, 2023, which is the departure date of his administration.
For one thing, the newspaper believes that the Governor can still do well to redeem his dented image. The only way of getting this done is to look beyond the political jobbers around him masquerading as aides. They tell him what he wants to hear as opposed to what he should know. The newspaper considers them as “evil winds” that blow the administration no good.
To “finish strong’’, the Governor must in the interim, address the challenge posed by these aides.
God Bless Delta State.
To be continued.
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