Dr. David Solomon, an Illustrious son of Delta state, has given reasons why Olorogun Barrister Kenneth Gbagi is the right man to govern Delta state. He spoke with Dorcas Izah of the Emerald News and Henry Akporero of Rero TV
Excerpts:
2023 election in Delta state is around the corner, what is your assessment of the various candidates?
I want to say that during the political era of any time, you see a lot of people throwing their hats in the ring wanting to go into government. 2023 is unique and different because starting from the presidential level, you see that Peter Obi coming out has changed the narrative of politics in Nigeria. In the past, it has always been between the APC and PDP. Some people will move from the APC to PDP and PDP to APC when they don’t get tickets in their parties.
Coming down to Delta state, there are about 4 or 5 candidates that are contesting for the governorship of the state. They are the SDP, PDP, APC, Labour Party and APGA.
In this election, the governorship is zoned to Delta central. All the candidates campaigning are from Delta central, having won primaries of their respective parties.
Now if you look at all of the candidates, one of the things I’m very particular and concerned about is the character and capacity of the people who are coming out.
There is one person who stands out among them. And that is the person of Olorogun Barrister Kenneth Gbagi who is the SDP candidate. That is the only person I believe is qualified to govern the state.
Why do you say that?
If you look back to history, all of the governors who have governed this state, rate their performance, what have they done for Deltans? This is not the era of occupying office for the few, enriching you and your family members.
We are tired of that. With Delta being one of the richest states in this country, and in Africa, it should have good governance that will benefit all Deltans.
Governance is to help the people. Yes, you might have your agenda but if your agenda does not translate to the common man, your agenda has failed.
That is why people like Kenneth Gbagi of the SDP, with what he has done as an individual and as an industrialist, he has become more popular among the people of Delta state.
We cannot have candidates who are billionaires yet they don’t have any business they’re doing, they become billionaires through politics. Kenneth Gbagi has beat every one of these people.
Are we going into his track record?
He was a one time minister of state for education. Within the short time he served, he created a lot of universities which are offering employment. Many families are feeding from that creation.
And in his personal business, he has done marvellously well within the state and beyond. So that is why he is the best candidate for the race. He has a very good track record. Political weaklings are trying to rubbish him because they know he is the right candidate.
They try to rubbish him so that they can push whoever they want to push to Deltans to see that we keep falling for the same game.
That is where I stand in Delta. It’s time to redeem and liberate Deltans, and Gbagi is the right person to do that.
What are those areas or loopholes that you think that if Gbagi comes to power he is going to improve on?
Gbagi is not a corrupt person. He will stop the corruption that is bleeding this state dry. Gbagi is an industrialist on his personal level.
He can industrialize our state and we know that every economy of the world that is strong today, is as a result of industrialization. There are resources in this state. There are resources in the 25 local government areas in this state that are unique to them.
You find out that Gbagi has the vision to industrialize the state. He has the vision to harness the great things that God has given to Delta to create jobs.
One of the issues that is confronting this nation is insecurity but you can’t solve the problem of insecurity when the people are hungry or when the people are jobless.
Sometimes when we go out for some campaign rallies, by the time we are all back, with the sun and all the activities done, everybody is tired. The next thing you want to do is to go to bed.
Now, if everybody is employed, gainfully employed and making good money, when they return from their job, everybody is tired. Nobody has time to think of criminal activities. Everybody will be relaxed and happy. So, there would be no room for criminals to move around.
I remember growing up in Delta state, you can easily identify criminals in communities because of their laziness, their inability to work to help their parents.
I believe that Gbagi has the agenda, he has what it takes to revolutionize Delta state to a place where Delta will become an envy for every state to emulate and become a reference point for people to go and see how Delta was able to rebuild.
So many people have been talking about Delta being a PDP state since 1999, do you think that SDP and Gbagi can change that narrative?
There is no state that belongs to any one party. Neither PDP nor APC has made made any lives better. A former governor of the state, Olorogun Felix Ibru, he was a governor under SDP.
PDP and APC have run down the country and impoverished Nigerians. They have done wickedly to Nigerians. It is the government of enriching themselves, stealing all our money and then enriching their families and their cronies. And Deltans are tired.
The thing is when you keep trying one thing and expecting change, that it madness. When you are tired of one thing, you will want to try something else. I believe Deltans are ready to try another party, and see a little bit of the difference.
When Felix Ibru was the governor of this state, many students enjoyed free education and Gbagi wants to offer the same thing, free education to all Deltans.
I have sat down with him, we’ve looked at some of the plans that he has for the state. And I’m somebody that before I throw my support behind any body, I like to question, and know where you’re going.
At my age and my level in life, I would not want to follow anybody sheepishly. I would want to know where we are going and what we want to accomplish, before I can throw my weight or support behind the person.
And this is what I’ve done. I have sat down with Chief Gbagi, we’ve continued to interact and ask questions. I’m calling on Deltans all over the world to support Gbagi for the governorship of this state.
It is time, yes we want a changed Nigeria, but don’t forget that Delta is also our own state. We want to change Delta. And I can proudly present to all Deltans all over the world, that we have a candidate called Olorogun Barrister Kenneth Gbagi that can bring about the change.
He was a one time minister of state for education in Nigeria, and who is also a Deltan from Urhobo extraction, from Delta central, and at the same time, he is a disciplined industrialist, a business man who has created employment for thousands of youths, and he is still doing the same thing.
At the same time, he wants to take this state out of this mess it is today, and to turn it to another Dubai, another London, so that Deltans can be proud that this is my state.That person is Chief Kenneth Gbagi of the SDP.
