By Scroll reporter Lagos, Nigeria.
A renowned economist and a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress APC, Prof. Pat Utomi has attributed the backwardness of Delta State to poor governance, noting that Delta today has become like a land ravaged by locust.
He spoke at a reconciliatory visit to some APC leaders in Delta Central hosted by Dr. Veronica Ogbuagu in Warri, Wednesday.
Prof. Utomi stated that Delta state could have become the Dubai of Africa, considering the resources that accrued to the state.
He blamed successive administrations since 1999 for the sorry state of Delta, asserting that they jettisoned great ideas which were freely offered to them to transform Delta and wasted several opportunities.
In his word: “Each time I look at my state, all I feel is shame, all Delta elites should be ashamed of what have become of their state. With all the resources that the state is blessed with, we have nothing to show more than decayed infrastructure.
“To change this narrative; APC in Delta state must reconcile and reconstruct its strategies if we really want a better Delta, if not history will hold us all responsible for not acting when we should.”
In her remark, Dr. Veronica Ogbuagu, a former Commissioner for Education in the state, collaborating Utomi’s view said that Delta state is very sick, due to poor leadership and followership, stressing that the people celebrate incompetency and mediocrity.
Bemoaning the poor state of things in Delta, she noted that; “if nothing is done to change the state of things in Delta, the generation to come will spit on our graves, because Delta has become a failed state.”
While appreciating the need for unity in APC, Dr. Ogbuagu said that there cannot be any meaningful reconciliation until the “illegal” Delta state executive of the APC is dissolved, and an all-embracing caretaker committee put in place, and congress held, the party will just be joking.
