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Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State has accused the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) of unabashedly playing politics of pull him Down syndrome and spreading distorted information to deceive the people.

PDP made the charge in a Press Release issued by the State Publicity Secretary, Dr. Ifeanyi Osuoza in response to comments attributed by an online news medium to the APC’s State Publicity Secretary, Mr. Ebata Onojeghuo Esq. in a story with the headline: “223,000 Direct Jobs: Delta APC blast Okowa, says it’s disingenuous attempt at scoring cheap political points … they are mostly political appointees, aides, and Keke riders”

Criticising the comment for its deviousness, a silly stunt done to trick and mischievously mislead Deltans and other members of the public to believe its lie, Delta PDP said it would have been surprised if the APC officials had not acted true to type in their worthless criticism of the administration of His Excellency, and go-getting and amiable Governor of Delta State, His Excellency, Senator, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa.

The PDP debunked the APC claim, pointing out that the information that APC is trying to tar with its sly comment is the incontrovertible and honest truth of the solid facts of the job creation marvel of Governor Okowa that is second to none.

The splendid scorecard of the PDP administration is the fulfillment of the Governor’s campaign promises on job and wealth creation since 2015. It is the hallmark that has defined the Governor as the “Talk na do” governor and the people’s beloved “Ekwueme.”

For the sake of properly informing those who genuinely want to know the fact and authenticity of the extent of the impact that the job and wealth creation efforts of the PDP administration has made since 2015 to date, it has become necessary for the PDP to declare that the facts stated by the Governor are correct, honest and candid. He is the one who is driving the administration and so no one can tell the story of his success and achievements better than him. And the facts are verifiable by anyone who sincerely wants to know the truth, not those who see the declaration as an opportunity to display wickedness and impugn the integrity of the well-meaning Governor just for political reasons. The facts and figures in the scorecard as made by the Governor are evidence-based, verified, and authoritative. These facts and truth are accordingly reiterated as follows:

A. That the PDP administration has created no fewer than13,510 new youth entrepreneurs from previously unemployed or underemployed youths through skills training, retraining, mindset reorientation, entrepreneurship training, startup and working capital support.

B. It has created 223,905 direct jobs through multi-faceted programmes and

initiatives in skills development, skills upgrading, entrepreneurship

training, enterprise microcredit, livelihood sustenance, business

support grants, market linkage support, and public service jobs placement.

C. It has created 1,325,750 indirect jobs arising from ancillary and multiplier

effects of public infrastructure works, Public Private Partnership (PPP) investments, sector-specific programmes, community-level and local government-level projects and youth empowerment grants and related programmes.

Delta PDP expresses its disappointment with the opposition party that rather than make attempt to verify claims on the job and wealth creation efforts of the government, it prefers to describe the truth as “disingenuous attempt to score cheap political point.” This is bad politicking and therefore unfair, as it is only a scheme to mislead and create disaffection in the people against the Governor, and their beloved PDP.

It is equally unbecoming for an online news medium that lays claim to being dispassionate to fall for the deception of APC by posing such infantile questions to a political party’s opponent while in a competitive political race. The answer is already a foregone conclusion. Because what the online news medium did can be likened to placing a party’s head on the board while arming the opponent with a well-sharpened machete of compromised questions and asking the opponent to chop off the head of its rival.

A medium with good intentions would have asked its reporter to go independently and verify the claims of the Governor and then confront him or his officers with its findings subsequently. The PDP in Delta is therefore challenging the online medium to do its own independent finding and cross-check with what the Governor presented before swallowing the mendacity claims of a political competitor. We state categorically that the claims of the Governor are solid, honest, and not the product of anyone’s imagination.

In another attempt to further rubbish the good deeds of the Governor the APC talked about factories, this is illiterate thinking. The system the Government of Delta State adopted in job and wealth creation is the strategy of seven social investment and job creation programmes including YAGEP, STEP, YAGEPRENEURS, and STEPreneurs among others, through giving them skill acquisition trainings to produce a complete set of graduands having full complements that will make the youth fully developed to be job and wealth creators and employers of labour. Of course, the good news is that many who have benefitted from these programmes have limitless joy for the opportunity, as many express gratitude to the Governor for his kind gesture as they tell their stories amid tears of joy. Will APC and the online medium say that they don’t listen to other mediums including national television stations whose news crews attend these programmes and air their reports with shots of proceedings and participants of the programmes? Participants in the reports are even captured making comments about how glad and pleased they are with the programmes and how it has brightened their future by giving them hope for a better living.

It needs also to be pointed out that among the television houses that cover the job creation training programmes of Delta State Government is the TVC, a television broadcast station owned by the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, now presidential candidate of APC. TVC reports the event whenever the trainings are commencing and the graduation ceremonies. So, what is the APC so-called State Publicity Secretary trying to prove? Nothing indeed, but mischief in hack writing.

Of course, it is a pat on the back for Governor Okowa that he has found a way to provide succour to Deltans who otherwise would have been jobless by giving them appointments as special assistants with job descriptions and specifications. It is better imagined what the fate of these fellows would have been without the opportunities given to them. But the APC is displaying bad belle, an expression of sadism. For the party, these people should be left to rot and pine away in ignominy and obscurity with nothing and in abject poverty. This, for us in PDP is the product of the ingenuity of a compassionate Governor, one who detests seeing people, especially the able bodied and intelligent youths stranded and frustrated in the society. We rather give kudos to the good-intentioned Governor Okowa for this nice gesture.

It is against all the above that we thank the people of Delta State for not falling for the deception of the desperate APC, who seeks to play foul to come into government in the State. Indeed, Deltans know where their bread are been buttered. And it is in PDP. They are well aware of the APC story of bad government and governance at the Federal level, especially the sorry state of things in the country today. Rather than cry wolf where there’s non, Deltans are asking APC to sell their candidates and programmes rather than engaging in propaganda and using unfair and foul tactics of trying to hit Governor Okowa below the belt.

Thank you Deltans for believing in Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, thank you youths of Delta for expressing your gratitude for the opportunities you have to better yourselves through the job and wealth creation programmes of the PDP-led State government. Thank you for always making Delta PDP and PDP Delta.

PDP! Power to the people!!

Dr. Ifeanyi M. Osuoza,
State Publicity Secretary,
PDP, Delta State.

12th October, 2022