No apologies for appointing my daughter as aide TheNigerialawyer

Delta Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has declared he has no apologies
for appointing one of his daughters as an aide.

His daughter, the governor said, is eminently qualified for the
position.

He said: “It is not true that I have two of my daughter’s
appointed. I have only one appointed and she is rightfully
qualified.

“I do not have any daughter in social media. The one appointed
for girl child education is rightfully qualified.

“I do not have any apologies for that because I know the quality
of daughter that I have.”

Okowa also said the choice of who becomes the next governor of
Delta State in 2023 will be determined by God.

He said although he expressed his personal view that his
successor should come from Delta Central, the choice ultimately was
beyond him.

Okowa said he has his views which he cannot enforce, adding that
the most important factor is the need to ensure “unity and
equity”.

The governor, who spoke at a media quarterly briefing in Asaba,
said the PDP will continue to work towards achieving a situation
that keeps the people United, realising that working together makes
the party stronger.

His words: “I am not God. I don’t make a Governor. Nobody makes
a governor. It is only God that can make one.

“The important thing is we want to ensure there is unity and
equity and we will continue to work towards achieving a situation
that keeps us United as Deltans realising that working together
makes us stronger as a people.”

He said the huge debt profile of Delta State was not adversely
affecting governance as his administration has devised smart
approaches to tackling its indebtedness.

He added that his administration was not piling debts for his
successor as new contracts are planned to chime with expected
receipts.

He said Delta State had at October 2018 exited from payment of
the bond taken by the previous administration by making a monthly
payment of N1billion from 2015 to 2018.

He declared with the restructured debt the state pays a
manageable N1.5 billion monthly.

He said his administration “was planning its economic approaches
in a manner that his successor will be debt-free save for old
restructured debts”.

Okowa, however, admitted to taking short term loans for
contracts that are financed through Irrevocable Standing Payment
Orders (ISPO).

He said the huge figures credited to Delta State are not the
actual debts accumulated by the State but includes both capital and
the interest rates computed over a period.