By Austin Ogwuda
AN Ughelli-based Journalist and Public Affairs Analyst, Mister Ovasa Ogaga has taken the Delta State Commissioner for Information, Dr Ifeanyi Osuoza and other Media Aides to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to the cleaners for deliberately refusing to explain to Deltans especially Journalists in the State why the governor has not had a Media parley since he assumed office over a year ago.
He also expressed regret and disappointment on why the governor has allegedly turned blind eyes to the sorry -state of the Delta State-owned Media houses.
He stated this while reacting to the recent bashing he received in response to the earlier query he raised over purported issue of Oborevwori as a placeholder for the immediate past governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa contained in the latest write-up, titled ‘Exposing the Truth Behind Oborevwori’s Government Lies’.
His words, “What Oborevwori’s media bullies fail to realise is that truth is constant. No matter how fast lies travel, they will eventually be caught by the truth. Today, the truth stares them in the face. Rather than addressing the issues raised in my article to invalidate my assertions, that Governor Oborevwori is acting as if he is a placeholder for Dr. Okowa, they chose to deflect the issues by dragging their only known political opponent, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege into the discussion.
“One wonders why they dodged the questions raised in the article and instead dragged Omo-Agege into a simple statement of facts. The issue is that only two ministries, where former Governor Okowa and current Governor Oborevwori have vested interests are being funded by the current state government.
“Despite Delta PDP’s victory at the Supreme Court, where the party defeated Omo-Agege, his shadow still seems to haunt this government. Each time a Deltan raises an issue, it’s always linked to Omo-Agege. Is the governor’s media team suggesting that Deltans have no right to independent opinions or are incapable of forming and holding opinions? How low do Governor Oborevwori and his aides think of Deltans? It’s sad.
“To clear any doubt, I, Ovasa Ogaga, was never an aide to the former Deputy President of the Senate, Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege, nor am I indebted to him to warrant being described as his loyalist. The issues raised in my article were not personal, but are in the interest of Deltans. Equally, I have no personal issues with Governor Oborevwori. Therefore, the media team should address me directly and answer the questions posed instead of hiding behind Omo-Agege to score cheap political points.
“It appears the Commissioner for Information and his team have not realised that the campaign period where propaganda and lies, could go unchallenged is over. Deltans are now more than ever ready to question every action of the PDP-led government and how they have appropriated and spent our commonwealth in over one year. The sooner they understand this, the better.
“The Delta Ministry for Information, like an onion that smells nice on the outside but is rotten inside, should explain why this government prefers to spend millions of Naira monthly and quarterly on national televisions and newspapers while allowing our state television houses Edjeba in Warri and Asaba to rot away due to poor funding.
“If things are truly working well as they want Deltans to believe”, he went on, “why are DBS Asaba and DRTV Warri off the air for most of the year? These stations, which used to be the pride of Deltans, have been reduced to Facebook TV under their watch. For DBS Edjeba-Warri, the state government has not funded it since the Okowa era. Both the radio and television arms of DBS Warri are dead.
“The state government needs to acquire modern, energy-efficient television and radio transmitters powered by solar power systems. For the few days, the station would be on, it would go off and on for over ten times when small radio stations in Uvwie, Warri and Ughelli were running uninterrupted. Is that not shameful? As the saying goes, charity begins at home.
“For any serious government, instruments or agency of the “mouthpiece” or information of the state government such as DBS Warri, DBS Asaba, The Pointer Newspaper and Delta State Orientation Bureau should be at their optima.
“I challenge the Delta State Commissioner for Information to an open debate to present figures on how much has been released to him from his ministry’s capital budget in the past six months and what the money was used for”, he stated.
On the issue of media parley, he has this to say:
“From all indications, Oborevwori’s administration has a phobia of the local media. How else can one explain that in a year and two months since he assumed office, he has not organized any media briefings for journalists in the state?
“A government that claims to have done well should be bold enough to face the media and tell its success stories. His counterparts in Edo, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River engage the media monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly. Why is this not the case in Delta? What is Governor Oborevwori afraid of?
” If Governor Oborevwori cannot sustain the quarterly media briefings that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa maintained for eight years, he could borrow a leaf from former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, who held monthly Pidgin English live media chat on DBS Asaba and DRTV Warri which were robust and engagingly impactful. Sadly, if he were to do this today, Deltans would not be able to tune in because both state-owned stations are in the Intensive Care Unit.
“I am not surprised that those managing the governor’s media are unaware that no modern political leader can succeed by running and hiding from the media. Rather than engaging the media, the Commissioner for Information announced the cancellation of the institutionalised governor’s quarterly media briefing during his first meeting with the leadership of the State Council of NUJ. This enables them to churn out and dish out propaganda and cooked-up information as press releases without being questioned”, he added.
Source: Advocate
