The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Delta State, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, says as an industrialist, he’ll upgrade from the status of a slum to a mega-state if elected to power come February 13.
Claiming to have the antidotes to the myriads of problems bedevilling the oil-rich state, the criminologist called on Deltans to vote massively for the SDP in the 2023 governorship election.
Addressing the clergy at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Warri Diocese, he urged Deltans to believe in his candidacy as the first black man in the world to become an AKS member of Rotary International to donate $250, 000 to charity, saying he can woo investors into the state.
The security expert cautioned Deltans against repeating the mistakes of 2015 and 2019 where, according to him, the current ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, used brazen lies, outright falsehood and propaganda to retain power.
The former Minister of State for Education and former Chairman of, the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, implored Deltans to see him as a job creator and a man ready to take the state to greater heights.
“We are going into the election months, February for the presidency and March, they will be running for the governorship election of Delta State.
“My joy is that you have been here over the years. So, you have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. I am in all of these worries because I believe I have what it takes to bring back the necessary change.
“Never would I have imagined that we will ever get to this level of decadence? It has come to a stage where Delta State has become the lying headquarters of Nigeria, where you see these clothing as blue, somebody from the government sees them as black and they will use social media to pursue it that it is black.
“This great Warri, where we have great companies, has become a slum because all the companies have gone and nobody is taking responsibility.
“This is the first time in our history as a people that our children have all drifted from Warri, to somewhere else. Our children no longer find Warri and the entire Delta State comfortable living.
“Security has become a problem. The entire Delta State has become a slum. Without you borrowing money, today, you are indebted to the tune of about N664 billion in a state where we have received about N3.2 trillion.
“Nothing has changed from the point of governance and I am worried, having taught in my private business life that the best thing was for people to contribute and jointly develop their society’s commerce and business world.
“On your street here, Bishop, 32-33 years ago, I built the Robinson Gbagi Plaza, believing that I needed to contribute to society to make sure that I uplift the Warri, presence. Today, I have over 3, 000 youths passing through that mall.
“When it became difficult for me to control, I built another one in PTI. The government has failed us, they lie to us. No industry is coming, nobody wants to invest in this economy.
“I am talking to Shell, they said they will come back if they find a governor with character. Shell left here for other shores where they believe there is some semblance of character in government.
“Chevron left us and they fly their people into Escravos and take them back after 14 days. By that we lost because they don’t pay the tax here they pay to Lagos because that is where they stay and all the servicing companies have left,” he lamented.
He, therefore, called on all Deltans to vote for him and all other SDP candidates in the forthcoming general election.
