Rita Enemuru, Reporting
PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has echoed concerns raised by Senator Ovie Omo-Agege regarding the Delta State Government’s spending priorities, in a development that has lent national weight to the opposition senator’s long-standing criticisms.
For months, Senator Omo-Agege, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) Senatorial Candidate for Delta Central, has been a lone but patriotic voice questioning the Oborevwori administration’s utilisation of N3.5 trillion in revenue.
He repeatedly asked why billions are being poured into flyovers while Deltans face hunger, insecurity, unemployment, and economic hardship.
For speaking this truth, he was attacked, insulted, and dismissed by the Delta State Government and its extensive network of media aides.
This week, President Tinubu made comments that speak directly to Senator Omo-Agege’s concerns.
President’s Warning to Governors
Receiving traditional rulers from Oyo State at the Presidential Villa on Thursday, President Tinubu told governors to cease prioritising the construction of flyovers, urging them instead to channel their now-vastly increased federal allocations into roads and infrastructure that improve citizens’ quality of life and give security agencies faster access to vulnerable communities.
The President noted that states are now receiving four to five times what they used to get – meaning there is no excuse for governors to be misapplying public funds.
That is precisely the concern Senator Omo-Agege has been raising about Delta State.
An Unmistakable Parallel
Senator Omo-Agege’s media adviser, Sunday Areh, said in a statement on Friday that the parallel between the President’s remarks and the senator’s position was unmistakable.
“Truth has no party. You do not need to wear the same jersey to speak the truth. Senator Omo-Agege spoke as a Deltan who feels his people’s pain. The President’s own words now echo that same concern, on a national scale,” the statement read.
The NDC campaign highlighted what it described as misplaced priorities, noting that N177 billion is being spent on flyovers in Warri, Effurun, Ughelli and Agbor – yet Primary Health Centres lack drugs, schools are understaffed, and insecurity is escalating across Delta.
“Concrete cannot cure sickness. Steel cannot feed a hungry child. Deltans deserve to know: do these projects meet the traffic and impact test the President himself has now set for governors nationwide?” the statement queried.
Call for Accountability
The statement further argued that if the President believes governors nationwide are under pressure to justify infrastructure spending against real impact on citizens’ lives, Delta should be no exception.
“Deltans deserve a full, audited account of the ₦3.5 trillion claimed to have been spent. What has it delivered to the ordinary man in the village?” it asked.
The NDC said the MORE Media team spent months attacking Senator Omo-Agege for raising concerns that now sit at the centre of national conversation on state governance.
“Let it be said plainly: governance is more than spending FAAC allocation to build flyovers. Governance is measured in functioning hospitals, teachers in classrooms, safety on our roads and in our communities, and opportunities for young people to work and thrive. A government that cannot show these outcomes has failed, no matter how many bridges it commissions,” the statement added.
Demands to Governor Oborevwori
The NDC called on Governor Oborevwori to, with immediate effect:
1. Subject all flyover and infrastructure projects to a transparent public-benefit and traffic-impact review.
2. Publish full details of all expenditures under the MORE Agenda.
3. Prioritise healthcare, education, security, agriculture, and direct economic support for Delta families, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda.
The NDC Offer
The statement concluded by outlining the NDC’s vision for Delta State, promising leadership that measures success by the lives it touches, not the ribbons it cuts.
“Under the leadership of Dr. Chris Iyovwaye, NDC’s governorship candidate for Delta State, and Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, our candidate for Delta Central, the NDC will provide that leadership – one that puts people first, concentrates resources on projects that genuinely improve the livelihood of ordinary Deltans, and holds every naira spent to the simple test: does this make life better for the man in the village, the trader in the market, the child in an under-equipped school?”
“History will record that Senator Ovie Omo-Agege stood with the people of Delta and spoke truth to power when it was inconvenient to do so – and that the conversation now unfolding at the national level only reinforces the urgency of that call,” the statement read.
“Delta deserves leadership that puts people before concrete.”
