By Austin Ogwuda
Despite public outcry about the economic crunch being witnessed in the country, the immediate past Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa has praised the ongoing economic reforms of the administration of President Bola Tinubu to high heavens as the the pathway to Eldorado.
Okowa stated this at a Youth Forum in Asaba today (Friday) after being honoured with an award – the Living Legend by the Delta Chapter of the National Youth Council of Nigeria.
He pointed out that the policy of subsidizing fuel with borrowed fund by previous administrations was unacceptable and retrogressive.
Therefore, the bold step taken by the administration of President Tinubu to change the narrative for the survival and economic transformation of the country should be commended, he posited.
He noted with delight that the benefits of subsidy removal have started to reflect on the huge allocations to Federally, State and Local Governments.
His words, “Salaries are being paid constantly now. Allocations to the States and Local government Councils have increased remarkably.
“During my tenure as Governor, we had to support local government councils to pay salaries. But today, local government councils are in better positions to pay salaries and execute projects. But that does not mean that everything is okay yet. There is still a lot of work to be done”, he stated.
The former Governor however urged the local government councils to make judicious use of the huge statutory allocations to them by building public infrastructure, empowering farmers and traders with grants.
… Cautions the Youths against being used as political thugs
He advised youths to engage in productive ventures to secure their future, instead of allowing themselves to be used as political thugs.
Said he, ”Building the youths is not just the job of the government of the federation or that of the state or the government at the local government level.
“The youths themselves”, he went on, “have to be prepared to be built. They have to be prepared to use the energy in them and their God given talents to work along with government in order to bring a total turnaround of our nation”.
