I Owe Nobody Apologies For Appointing My Daughter As Aide – Okowa

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has declared he has no apologies for appointing one of his daughters as an aide in his government.

His daughter, the governor said, is eminently qualified for the position.

He said: “It is not true that I have two of my daughter’s appointed. I have only one appointed and she is rightfully qualified.

“I do not have any daughter in social media. The one appointed for girl child education is rightfully qualified.

Okowa also said the choice of who becomes the next governor of Delta State in 2023 will be determined by God.

“I do not have any apologies for that because I know the quality of daughter that I have.”

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He said although he expressed his personal view that his successor should come from Delta Central, the choice ultimately was beyond him.

Okowa said he has his views which he cannot enforce, adding that the most important factor is the need to ensure “unity and equity”

He said although he expressed his personal view that his successor should come from Delta Central, the choice ultimately was beyond him.

The governor, who spoke at a media quarterly briefing in Asaba, said the PDP will continue to work towards achieving a situation that keeps the people United, realising that working together makes the party stronger.

His words: “I am not God. I don’t make a Governor. Nobody makes a governor. It is only God that can make one.

“The important thing is we want to ensure there is unity and equity and we will continue to work towards achieving a situation that keeps us United as Deltans realising that working together makes us stronger as a people.”

He said the huge debt profile of Delta State was not adversely affecting governance as his administration has devised smart approaches to tackling its indebtedness.

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He added that his administration was not piling debts for his successor as new contracts are planned to chime with expected receipts.

He said Delta State had at October 2018 exited from payment of the bond taken by the previous administration by making a monthly payment of N1billion from 2015 to 2018.

He declared with the restructured debt the state pays a manageable N1.5 billion monthly.

He said his administration “was planning its economic approaches in a manner that his successor will be debt-free save for old restructured debts”.

Okowa, however, admitted to taking short term loans for contracts that are financed through Irrevocable Standing Payment Orders (ISPO).

He said the huge figures credited to Delta State are not the actual debts accumulated by the State but includes both capital and the interest rates computed over a period.