By Felix Ofou

Mr Godwin Anaughe’s vituperations on the Delta State 2025 proposed budget follows a familiar refrain. It is riddled with inanities, distorted facts and manipulations which seek to portray the Governor of Delta State, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori as incompetent and unable to rule the state.

Of course, it is common knowledge that the writer’s New Delta Coalition is a one man show, floated to satisfy preconceived sentiments and notions. Needless to say that Mr Anaughe suddenly transformed into a critic after serving as Special Adviser to former Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege. He needs to keep busy and stay relevant no matter the cost.

Governor Oborevwori only presented the 2025 proposed estimates to the Delta State House of Assembly on Thursday, November 14, 2024. The budget showed that the government expects to spend N936 Billion, the highest by any administration since the creation of the state in 1991.

If the N936 Billion, over N347Billion is for recurrent expenditure representing 37 25% while over N587 Billion is earmarked for capital expenditure, which is 62 75% of the budget.

Rather than applaud such a bold and audacious proposal by Governor Oborevwori, Anaughe opted to unleash a tirade of conjectures which sought to portray the government as lacking in vision and bereft of ideas to move the state forward.

First, he attributed the ballooned budget increase of 29.12 percent increase to the policies enunciated by the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government headed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu because the estimates relied heavily on allocations from Abuja.

It beats the imagination of any right thinking person that anyone could be praising the Tinubu led government with its failed policies, biting inflation, humongous debts and a federal budget sustained by consistent over borrowing. Under the APC regime, Nigeria has become the poverty capital of the world, and still counting in many negative firsts.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, whose blue print the APC led Federal Government have been aping said that the reforms introduced more than a year ago that Tinubu took over as President are not working. Both international institutions agree that the reforms have only brought hunger in the land. How can anyone applaud T-pain of APC?

That Mr Anaughe could use Tinubu government as a reference point reflects severe jaundice in his perception. It is a further reflection how far removed he has become from the common man, who pray daily that Tinubu and his wicked Co-travellers should be removed as quickly as is constitutionally acceptable.

What the convener of the so called New Delta Coalition failed to realize is that the state did not get to its present position of getting the highest federal allocation by accident. That Delta is controlled by an opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ordinarily precludes the state from getting such a high amount.

But the President and the authorities. In Abuja are aware of the deft political moves by Governor Oborevwori that resulted in the state collecting the highest allocation outside the Federal Government. Delta is able to collect such huge allocation based on sustained peace and massive support to security forces to curb theft.

Earlier in the week, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announced an increase in daily production of crude oil to 1.8 million barrels per day. Such a feat is only possible because of positive results from the onshore and offshore oil fields in Delta State.

Anaughe’s pitch on the percentage contribution of internally generated revenue (IGR) to the budget is indeed laughable and outright dishonest. Granted that the percentage of IGR contribution to the 2025 budget seems to have dwindled, it is a giant leap from previous years, giving that we are talking of a fraction of N936 Billion.

According to the writer, “At only N140 billion, the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) is alarmingly low, accounting for only 15% of the total budget. This indicates a heavy reliance on federal allocations and external revenue sources, which is concerning, especially when compared to other states like Lagos, FCT, Rivers, and Ogun, which have achieved significantly higher IGR figures.

“Additionally, the downward spiral of the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) is troubling. In 2023, the IGR of N87.6 billion for the period January to September accounted for 17.35% of the total budget. This year’s IGR accounts for a meager 16.35% of the approved budget. Next year’s figure of 15% confirms a negative trend that raises serious red flags about the state’s financial management”.

The above reportage amounts to telling a story from a disjointed lens. This is because Anaughe and his paymasters know that Delta State’s IGR has grown in leaps and bounds compared to when they held the reins by the jugular.

For the records, Delta State Internal Revenue Service (DSIRS) exceeded its revenue target for 2024 in nine month. It capped the target by over 100 percent within the said period. The service had a revenue target of N110.3 Billion for 2024 but exceeded the mark within nine months, from January to September when it raked in N111.7 Billion, representing 101.29 percent. This means that more money is expected by the end of the year.

DSIRS attained a similar feat in 2023 when it exceeded its revenue target of N95 Billion, having netted in N104.08 Billion, representing 120.9 percent increase. Clearly the projected N140 Billion for 2025 will be surpassed. And in terms of lump sum, the IGR contribution to the budget is higher, even though smaller when rated in percentages.

Thankfully, the Oborevwori administration has stated that it will not borrow to fund the 2025 budget just as it has resisted the urge to source money from external sources to fund ongoing projects. Indeed the Governor has displayed uncommon traits of prudence, frugality and discipline in the management of the State’s resources and therefore deserves to be roundly applauded.

While welcoming suggestions made by Mr Anaughe on how to further expand the State’s economy in the areas of tourism, agriculture, oil and gas as well as bringing more people into the tax net, we reject his attempt to railroad the state government into the bankrupt Bretton Woods ideas of the Tinubu administration that has brought Nigeria to its knees.

The New Delta Coalition and its paymasters must be told Governor Oborevwori does not intend to foist untold hardship on the people as we have witnessed at the federal level in the past 18 months. Neither will it abdicate governance to economic paradigms that have no bearing to the people who elected the government into power.

Truth is, Deltans have seen the Oborevwori MORE agenda at work and they are happy with the giant strides recorded so far. The organic, unsolicited heroic welcome received by the Governor on Thursday at the Delta State House of Assembly when the budget was formally presented remains a testament of his wide acceptance.

Any attempt to shoot the kite down while on its full sail will not work. Oborevwori roundly defeated Anaughe and his paymasters in the last Governorship election in the state. He won 21 out of 25 local governments in the state, a record yet to be beaten or equalled by any candidate for that top office in the state.

As a testament of his fidelity to the people who elected him into office, Oborevwori has unfolded giant projects across the state. He has not detracted from the promise to be Governor for all. That task remains constant in his daily activities. The least we can do is to encourage him to do MORE and not seek to shoot him down as a comet in its prime.

*Ofou is Executive Assistant on New Media to Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori