Asaba, the Delta State capital was virtually on lockdown Friday as a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship aspirant in the state, Sir Tony Obuh, formally declared his intention to receive the baton of leadership of the state on May 29, 2015 from the incumbent governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan. The ceremony was a carnival of sort as an unprecedented mammoth crowd cutting across all ethnic groups, social class, demography and gender thronged the Cenotaph, venue of the occasion.

Obuh said he would pursue development in primary healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure, human capital and wealth creation as a way to address the issue of unemployment.

He said: “emphasis will be on access to first intervention basic healthcare, including public hygiene. Pregnant women and their babies, children who are five and below, and the elderly will continue to have free medical care.

“We will ensure functional and sustainable healthcare delivery in communities through well-equipped primary healthcare centres and continuation of renovation of our hospitals, including providing them with modern equipment. All the local governments will have functional health facilities, while our tertiary health facility at the Teaching Hospital in Oghara will always receive prompt attention to put it at par with other such institutions globally”.

Obuh who was cheered by a huge crowd of supporter emphasised that his government would pursue its policies and programmes with renewed vigour, deep sense of responsibility and deliver service proactively to every nook and cranny of the state. His words: “towards this end, a bottom-up approach that guarantees responsiveness to the yearnings of the populace will be adopted which is the hallmark of good governance and leadership.

“I am ready to serve in a more challenging capacity to impact on the lives of the people of Delta State. In the last few months, we have consulted widely across the state, received prayers; we have received thousands of telephone calls and text messages, including personal visitations from all segments of our society asking me to come to contest for the post of the Governor of our dear Delta State.

“I am aware of the large cultivable lands around us which stand us in good stead. If properly harnessed, it could be a vital tool in our quest for a Delta Beyond Oil. In recognition of the fact that oil is an exhaustible resource, our administration will encourage the growth of agriculture through sustaining and strengthening of existing agricultural infrastructure. Communities will be encouraged to concentrate on areas of comparative advantage.

“Our policy thrust will focus on strategic agricultural production and support across the value chain through agri-business market identification and entry strategies, export promotion and market development, agricultural extension and training, including storage, processing, packaging and transportation of fresh and perishable produce to minimize post-harvest losses.

“To boost agriculture and at the same time industrialization, major emphasis will be laid on agro-based industries. A lot of agricultural products are produced within the State. Our ability to process these farm produce will no doubt create job opportunities for our youths.

“Unemployment is a major challenge. To engage the large pool of the youth population in the State, we need to redirect the curriculum of Technical Colleges and skills acquisition centres, so that they can sharpen the skills of graduates and add professional touch for purposes of self- employment and survival in a world that is more ICT and self- employment driven.

“We will continue to expand the coverage of the Micro-Credit Programme as a means of growing the informal sector and reducing poverty. It remains a key instrument for advancing the integration of our rural communities into the State’s economic mainstream. Under the micro credit programme, there will be deliberate commitment to youth and women empowerment”.

Speaker after speaker extolled the credentials of Obuh to lead the state. One of the supporters, Ovie Godspower, told our reporter that among all the aspirants in all the parties, Obuh is the only one that does not have a baggage to his name. “Go and research on this, he is the only one without a criminal record. We all know him to be diligent and honest, we know him to be hard working and we know he is the right man for the job having been in the system for a long time. He knows the way and we will follow him”.