The Delta State governorship candidate of Labour Party, Deacon Ken Pela, has restated his 8-point rebuilding and development plans when elected governor of the state on March 11, 2023 governorship election, and urged all Deltans to vote for him to liberate the state. He said his government will enthrone righteousness, harmony and prosperity for all Deltans, and away from the 24 years of locust waste the state has been subjected by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which he dubbed ‘people deceiving people’ on account of myriads of failed promises and under-development of the state under the PDP.
Pela made the assertion at the 90th birthday reception for Pa Omuru Simeon Adhemawa at his Owhelogbo home at Isoko North LGA. He was in company of his wife, his deputy, Prof. Julie Nwabogo-Umukoro and her husband, Prof. Matthew Umukoro and Isoko North State House of Assembly candidate, Prince Oghenerioja Usie of Labour Party.
According to Pela, “Our country Nigeria is in need of change, not the fraudulent APC kind of change though, and we all have the opportunity to make this change on February 25, 2023. We have the opportunity to change this country for good, for the better. And the only platform to realise that is the Labour Party (LP), aka Liberate the People party – the party with ‘mama, papa and pikin’ logo, the only alternative. So tell all your people, go out there with your PVC and vote Peter Obi, the man whom God has called to change Nigeria, and all Labour Party candidates including Ken Pela in Delta state. We were once in PDP – People Deceive People, until we saw the light and moved out to Liberate the People – Labour Party (LP)!”
He said his vision is to build a better Delta where righteousness, harmony and prosperity reign, noting that fairness, equity, justice and transparency in governance are lacking, just as waste and corruption in the state’s governance are rife. He promised to create an environment where merit thrives.
“I don’t tell people that I want to build roads, I want to build schools – those are the basic things that government owes you, the people, to do for you,” Pela said. “Yes, government owes you those things by right; it’s not a privilege. I can assure you that under my leadership, Delta will have the best roads anywhere in the country.
“But over and beyond that, I will engender prosperity with eight key drivers. First is that we will pay a living minimum wage and it will not be less than N100,000. That way there will be disposable income to retool our economy. The second thing we will do is to ensure that our local governments have fiscal autonomy. All the monies that are supposed to come to local governments will come to them, and they will be used as centres of development. Local government chairmen will be held accountable for monies received. People at the grassroots will know how much comes to them and demand accountability.
“The third thing we will do is local government-based social investment scheme where we will give 100 people in each local government N1 million every month, payable over four years, with beneficiaries paying back N250,000 every year. The aim is to enable people to start businesses or grow businesses. The fourth is to provide power. Gas is all over Delta; there’s gas in Isokoland. So why not provide gas turbines to give power to Isoko? We will ensure we utilise our gas resources and stop gas flaring and ensure that there’s 24-hour power in Delta state. The fifth thing is to develop 10 new cities. As it is today, Delta state is developing into one huge slum – no development plan, nothing. So we’re going to develop 10 new cities, one in each federal constituency. So there will be one new city for Isoko North and Isoko South that will have 24-hour power; it will have industries and amenities required to live a good life. The idea is for people to get good houses at relatively cheap rates, and they can pay with mortgages. These are things that will boost the economy of our state.
“Also, we will revive moribund industries; all the industries that are dead – DSC Steel, Aladja, Asaba Textile Mills, the sea ports at Warri, Koko, etc – we will revive them. By the time we do all these things, the economy of Delta state will skyrocket. That way we will build a better Delta where righteousness, harmony and prosperity will reign.”
