By Comrade Reuben Izeze
I come in “Peace”, with facts and figures.
1. When governance is measured by impact, not ink, the numbers tell a different story Three years into Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s MORE Agenda, the armchair critics seem to have found their favourite anthem: “If it can’t be awarded as a construction contract, it isn’t development”.
It is a catchy line sha. But unfortunately, it is totally disconnected from reality. While the pens of armchair analysts have been busy scripting critiques from afar, the bulldozers of progress have been busy rewriting the story of Delta State in concrete, yes, but also in classrooms, clinics, farms and coding hubs.
Chinua Achebe once said, “It is easier to awaken a man who is asleep, than a man who is pretending to be asleep”. The critics can keep pretending to be asleep, while the rest of us progressives, move forward.
2. The question is not whether Delta is building
The question is: What kind of leader builds roads, schools, bridges, businesses, flyovers and futures? The answer is Rt. Hon. Elder Sheriff Francis Orowhedor OBOREVWORI JP.
Let us now address the selective amnesia of these armchair critics one after the other.
3. The Ledger They Forgot to Read
Let us begin with the numbers that Swill Mavua somehow missed.
You may recall that in 2023, Delta State’s IGR stood at ₦83 billion.
By 2024, under Oborevwori’s prudent fiscal management, it had soared to ₦158 billion, representing a staggering 90.4% growth. Simultaneously, the state’s debt profile collapsed from ₦465 billion to ₦249 billion.These are not the numbers of a government that prioritises contracts over content. These are the numbers of an administration that knows how to earn, save, and spend wisely. As at the end of December 2024, the administration had undertaken a total of 513 road projects spanning over 1,300 kilometers, with 950 kilometers of accompanying drainage infrastructure.
By 2025, that figure had grown to over 600 road projects and 25 bridges. In 2025 alone, the administration delivered approximately 300 kilometers of roads, but somehow, the critics were pretending to be asleep and maybe in their self-induced slumber, saw only skeletons.
4. The Agriculture Revolution They Pretend Doesn’t Exist
The critics claim Delta has “no flagship agricultural programme.” They must have been writing with their faculties on vacation in Utopia, because in March 2025, Governor Oborevwori unveiled a $1 billion (One Billion USD) oil palm investment plan, a project that has already seen 68 communities across Delta release 130,000 hectares of land, surpassing the initial 100,000-hectare target. Perhaps when they wake up from their slumber, they will find that the first phase alone, estimated at $150 million, will develop 35,000 hectares and establish two oil mills.
This a project that aims to create at least 288,700 jobs in its first phase and over one million in the long run, with a goal of lifting two million Deltans out of poverty.
It may also interest these mischief makers to know that through the D-CARES programme, the MORE AGENDA is supplying vital farming inputs, building farmers’ capacity, and fostering economic resilience.
Are they not aware that over 16,000 farmers have been empowered through support schemes in crops, livestock and fisheries?
The administration has also scaled up cassava and rice production at Aviara and established greenhouse projects across the state. In fact, the Neighbourhood/Homestead Farming Programme has been hailed as one of the best in Nigeria.
I am aware that Governor Oborevwori has also partnered with Brazilian farmers to boost food security and position Delta as a top agribusiness hub in Nigeria and West Africa. We are talking agriculture, food security and jobs.
5. The Schools They Forgot to Mention
They speak of crumbling schools and pupils sitting on bare floors. In their selective amnesia, they fail to mention that the Oborevwori administration has recruited thousands of teaching and non-teaching staff across local government areas to strengthen the education sector.
They fail to mention that over 5,500 new teaching and non-teaching staff have been employed.
They also fail to mention that in June 2025, the State Executive Council approved the release of N6.7 billion as counterpart funding to access UBEC grants.
They fail to mention that over N1 billion in bursaries has been disbursed to over 60,000 students. In fact, in 2025 alone, 33,064 students benefited from bursary awards.
They fail to mention that Delta State students recently emerged as World Debate Champions in Doha, Qatar, beating teams from advanced nations and elite institutions.
One of them, Ikhamateh Splendour, was named Overall Best Debater of the competition.
These are students from public secondary schools in Delta State.
Human Capital Development is what happens when a governor invests in minds and Rt. Hon. Elder Sheriff Francis Orowhedor Oborevwori has performed excellently in that regard.
6. The Youth Empowerment Programme They Chose to Ignore
The critics claim there is “no cottage industry programme, no tech hub.” They have conveniently ignored the MORE Biz-Up programme that assists a minimum of 2,000 fledgling entrepreneurs. They have also conveniently ignored that over 200,000 youths have benefited from skills acquisition programmes, entrepreneurship training, grants, and other skills development opportunities by this administration. They ignore the state-of-the-art ICT and Computer-Based Test Hub opened at Onicha-Olona.
They ignore that Governor Oborevwori has been commended for reducing youth unemployment through skills acquisition programmes that have benefited over 50,000 youths.
7. The Healthcare They Overlook
The mischief makers speak of hospitals but forget to mention that Delta State now operates 65 General Hospitals, 441 primary healthcare centres and three tertiary institutions under construction. They forget that the Oborevwori administration has renovated and equipped over 150 primary healthcare centres across the 25 Local Government Areas.
That the Asaba Specialist Hospital now boasts world-class diagnostic facilities, including MRI, CT, and dialysis units.
That the governor approved a ₦200,000 tax-free fund for all doctors in Delta State to stem the tide of the “japa” syndrome.
That dialysis treatment fees in state-owned hospitals have been reduced from over ₦70,000 to ₦45,000. In their deep, pretentious slumber, they forgot that the governor has also unveiled a welfare scheme providing financial and healthcare support to 10,000 widows, each receiving a monthly stipend of N15,000.
8. The Police Stations They Misunderstand
You see, when the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable. I beseech thee my people,what is the fundamental purpose of government albeit the state?
Several scholars and philosphers have sufficiently educated those who seek knowledge on the fundamental/primary purpose of government.
However,since my Comrade, Chuks Erhire has decided to join Swill Mavua in this voyage to misinformation city, let me refer them both to our ground norm.
Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria (as altered) provides expressly that, “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government …”.
Had they been awake, the critics would have heard that Governor Oborevwori made the announcement at the Delta State Security Summit 2026, a gathering that brought together heads of security agencies, local government chairmen, traditional rulers, community leaders and civil society organisations.
The governor stressed that “security cannot be left to security agencies alone”.
Traditional institutions, religious bodies, businesses, community leaders and citizens all have vital roles to play. If the critics are in touch with reality, they would know that the construction of these headquarters is in preparation for the eventual establishment of state police, a constitutional evolution that many States are preparing for. In furtherance of this, the governor has also established the Delta State Security Trust Fund as a sustainable platform for collaboration between government and the private sector in supporting security operations.
Abeg, when a governor builds police stations, renovates schools, empowers farmers, creates jobs, reduces debt and raises IGR, that cannot be regarded as “usurpation.” That is leadership but of course, the critics are asleep.
9. The Question Every Deltan Should Ask
The critics ask: “Why always construction?” The better question should be: “Why does a governor who has delivered so much across every sector attract such selective amnesia?”
Recall that Governor Oborevwori has been named Governor of the Year 2024 by ThisDay, Vanguard, The Sun, Silverbird, and News Telegraph. In 2025, he was named Most Prolific Governor of the Year by the Democracy Heroes Award.
He was also named Leadership Governor of the Year 2025.
He introduced digital budget tracking, streamlined the civil service, and implemented the new N77,500 minimum wage for workers, one of the first States in Nigeria to do so. Are these the accolades of a governor who has abandoned governance for contracts? I adjudge these to be the recognitions of a leader who has redefined what it means to govern, and every well-meaning Deltan should so hold.
Contrary to your jaundiced opinions sirs,
The award of contracts in the Delta State Government is handled by The State Tenders Board under the Chairmanship of His Excellency The Deputy Governor or by the Inter-Ministerial Tenders Board(depending on Exco approved financial thresholds) headed by the Permanent Secretary.
His Excellency Rt. Hon. Elder Sheriff Francis Orowhedor Oborevwori plays no role in the contract award processes as our processes are guided by the provisions of the Delta State Financial Law 2022.
Perhaps, because being contractors while holding high public office is their stock in trade, they are won’t to assume the same of others.
Take note that Deltans are not against critique.
We hold the firm view that every government must be held accountable.
But critique must be rooted in facts, not fiction.
It must acknowledge what has been done, even as it demands more.
Governor Oborevwori has built roads and schools.
He has built bridges and businesses.
He has built flyovers and futures.
The proof is not in press releases, but it is in the visible transformation of Delta State, from the riverine communities of Burutu to the urban centres of Warri and all across Delta.
The bulldozers are moving and so are the minds of Delta’s youth.
So are the businesses of Delta’s entrepreneurs.
So is the economy of a State whose Governor understands that, development is not a choice between concrete and content but in the marriage of both.
This is my verdict, and I so submit.
Sheriff don work,
And,
DELTANS & THE ENTIRE WORLD DON SEE AM!!!
Shallom.
Comrade IZEZE Rume Yakubu Reuben Esq. writes from Asaba
