Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta state has been governing Delta since May 29, 2023 without commissioner for information and attorney general. These are two principal officers that are indispensable in the administration of a state. But Governor Sheriff Oborevwori has remained mute over appointment of these two key cabinet members.
He had appointed and sworn in commissioners for all ministries with some supposedly one ministry being fragmented into three ministries. The ministry of education has three commissioners, primary, secondary and tertiary education. This is a waste of scarce resources.
He also created a new ministry of girl child entrepreneurship development with former governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s daughter, Orode, being in charge. He appointed Charles Aniagwu, a former information commissioner as commissioner for rural and riverine roads.
This is a man who is a journalist, he only knows how to write and talk. This Aniagwu did very perfectly during the last administration of erstwhile Governor Ifeanyi Okowa. Now he will be doing the job of a civil engineer. This is an aberration. This man does not know engineering drawings and cannot interprete civil engineering designs. He will rely on what ministry engineers explain to him.
While this Aniagwu assigned duty is a misnomer, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori has kept mute over appointment of commissioners for information and justice. No state can operate effectively without these two key officials. Since the state has no information commissioner, there has been a large information gap in Delta state.
With the absence of information commissioner, many Deltans and outside are very much unaware of the goings on in the state. There’s darkness in the state because no one is giving information to Deltans on the workings of government. Since Oborevwori assumed office and appointed commissioners, there has been no media briefings to get Delta people acquainted with the happenings in the state.
This is the job of the commissioner of information in every state. It is baffling and disturbing why Governor Sheriff Oborevwori will keep silence on appointment of information commissioner and attorney general. The job of a governor cannot be effectively discharged without these two officials. In the hierarchy of government functionaries, these two officials top the list after the governor and his secretary to the state government.
In the midst of this understanding, the governor is keeping Deltans in the dark as to why he cannot appoint the persons to man these two powerful ministries. Governor Sheriff Oborevwori should come out clean and explain why Delta does not and should not have the commissioners for justice and information. This has never happened since the creation of the state, and most especially since the emergence of true democracy, nay fake democracy , in 1999.
A working state cannot do without these two critical officials. They are the fulcrum upon which a state stands and functions. Information must flow from the top to the bottom for the smooth administration of a state. The people of a state have a right to know what the governor is doing that will be of benefit to them. They also have a right to criticise the government when they feel certain programs and projects of the government are not in consonance with the demands of the people.
We should not be made to believe that the governor and his principal, former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, are still having fisticuffs over the appointment of these two officials. Deltans are aware that there were issues between the two, a development which led to long delay in the appointment of commissioners for the less important ministries. If it is so, Dr. Okowa should let Oborevwori be and give him space to run the government of the state.
As it is now, Delta state has no information and justice commissioners. This is not good for a heavily rich state but with poverty ridden dwellers due to ineffective and poor governance. Governor Sheriff Oborevwori must wake up to his responsibilities to Deltans. This is a core mandate of the governor. The two officials are key to the administration. Let Oborevwori do the needful.
MORE TO COME…
