Evans Ivwurie: A Lawmakers Fall from Grace

By Anslem Etolor

Can we say it is a Fall from Grace that has made Hon Evans Ivwurie to say Gov Okowa has not done anything in Delta?

The same Hon. Evans Ivwurie who in 2017 stated that he decided to join the PDP because the Delta State Governor, Senator Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa has provided “visionary leadership in spite of the harsh economic reality” and thanked Governor Okowa for being prudent with the affairs of the state. Such a man should not be taken seriously for his emotional outburst against the Okowa administration.

Please let someone remind Hon Evans Ivwurie that Abraka was considered a ghost town in terms of road infrastructure but Okowa changed that narrative and we are all witnesses to it. It is important to state that Winners road, NUT road, Ivie road and Jehova Street leading to Umonu crescent were Evans Ivwurie’s house is in Abraka were constructed by the Okowa administration prior to 2019

I would have loved to take Hon Evans Ivwurie on a tour across rural communities including riverine communities so as to compare notes with him on what he understands as development and underdevelopment.

Since he lost elections and abandoned Delta to live in Abuja, I can just refresh his memory once again that the multi-billion naira Ogheye floating market is ready for inauguration and we understand what that project means for those in coastal communities leading up to Ondo state, not to mention the Agbarho-Orherhe bridge, Oha bridge that is also very close to his village. Is he also unaware of the Ultra-Morden Prof Chike Edozien secretariat complex that has made government business very easy for everyone, as almost all the agencies of government are located in one place.

Can we say he is a dishonorable man, not to have seen the massive investment this administration has put into education and healthcare? We are the only state in Nigeria to have six functional technical colleges fully accredited and with additional three brand new ones in Asaba, Effurun and Obiaruku in September while the other six are at different stages of completion and vocational centres across the state that has helped to provide skills-based training at very minimal cost for our people.

We are building a mother and child hospital as well as trauma centre, in Owa-Alero and Agbor respectively, the administration is currently undertaking phased upgrade of facilities at the Central hospital Warri. The Asaba Specialist Hospital which this administration inherited is another testimony of Okowa’s gains in the healthcare sector, and we are leading other states in the implementation of Health insurance and many of them are understudying our success story in this regard.

This administration has provided massive infrastructure upgrade for several secondary and primary schools in Delta including the three new universities that have witnessed massive transformation over the last one year.

Do I need to remind Hon Evans Ivwurie that the Asaba International Airport that he uses every time he comes to Delta also received Okowa’s midas touch and the Stephen Keshi Stadium which hosted the African Senior Athletics Championship tagged Asaba 2018 that will also host the 2022 National Sports festival in September.

All of us in Delta know those with character problem and our beloved brother, fits into that category because I don’t see any reason why someone who was a lawmaker will make spurious allegations about borrowings that are tied to infrastructure development projects for which the state government followed due diligence and has not received the monies because it is tied to refunds from the federal government, or a CBN guarantee for farmers in palm plantation business that the state government is acting as a guarantor for our people.

Evans thrives in a chaotic environment that’s why he is unable to understand that as a respected leader, you cannot make bogus claims just media highlights, and make political gains out of those who are desperate to enter into government house through the back door. Facts are sacred and truth does not have colouration.

I think it is proper to invite Hon Evans Ivwurie to a debate so as to tell the public what is happening in Delta that has changed his understanding of the basic principles of development, especially in a multi-ethnic state like ours in which every section of the state has had a fair share of development.