As activities for 2027 general elections are kick-starting, a notable political, former Leader, Oshimili South Legislative Arm, Hon Peter Chukwuemeka Nwosa, in this interview with Andy Akeni and Moses Etu, spoke on many issues including 2027 general elections, Delta State government, hike in house rent in Asaba among others. Excerpt
Honourable, Can you tell us who you are?
I’m Hon Peter Chukwuemeka Nwosa, I’m a former leader of Oshimili South Legislative Arm here in Delta State.
Now, you are a political leader in Oshimili South, By God’s grace, you were the former Leader of the legislative arm. And now, the 2027 election is coming up. What do you have to say about it?
Well, it is obvious that the 2027 election is going to be a difficult one for so many reasons. But we are still optimistic. It has never really been easy. The 2023 election was not easy, 2019 was never easy, neither 2015. Election is always a game of struggle, so, we know that at the end of the day we are still going to win Delta State.
How will you rate the Delta State Government under Rt. Hon Sheriff Oborewvori?
Well, frankly speaking, I would rate the governor very high. Because of certain projects he had undergone, especially, the Effurun, Warri, Asaba axis and other parts of the state.
He has done tremendously well by spreading development projects to all parts of the state. And presently, if you look around Oshimili South, you will see that the governor has started a lot of jobs now too, if all these projects he is doing right now are going to be completed in the next one year, I think we will have a lot of good things coming from him.
As a former legislative leader, can you assess your tenure? What are the achievements that you brought to Oshimili South. Just tell us one or two things.
Basically, during my tenure, I think we brought governance closer to the people, because in our days, a lot of projects came into Oshimili South local government area. Although, in my time, local government funding was not the way it is now. At least, we were able to make people know that there are funds in the councils. Because the ideology before was that everything was being left for only the state to handle, that was why people always say that there was no money in councils, at least, as a legislator, I can remember investigating IGR. I was able to beat my chest and tell them that we get N1billion in a year. lf all things are put in place very well. So, we brought awareness of politics closer to the people. As far as I’m concerned, politics is a game of interest and the interest of the people.
Let’s take a look at Asaba, the state capital. In the last 10 years, what do you assess. Can you assess the development?
Well, in the last ten years, apart from being a politician, I am a real estate developer. And it is obviously clear that Asaba is one of the fast developing cities in the South. One of the fastest growing cities South of the Sahara.
Not just in Nigeria. So, I think governance has given room too for this development to take place. While the people of Asaba have also played a major role, because peace is one thing that propels development, so, because of the peaceful nature of Asaba, it has made development to be easier. And I think in the next ten years, if Asaba moves at this pace, things are going to be better. Like the last administration also played a major role.
The last administration, the former governor, the person of Senator Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa tried within the metropolis, and I can even tell you that most jobs that even the present governor is doing were contracts that were awarded by the past government because government is a continuity. And he has to finish all those ones before he can now do fresh awards. So, we are hoping that by a year time, he should be through with all these other projects. So, I think that the pace is faster. It’s not a bad one. He is doing relatively well.
As at now people are complaining of very high house rents, particularly in Asaba, That it’s beyond the reach of civil servants, poor masses. Are we regretting naming the place the state capital? Based on the expansion by the way of development, the public analysis, people are going to complain of house rent, because house rent is no longer within the reach of civil servants.
Yes, it is very, very normal. And that is why we talk of development. If you cannot pay for rent within the capital city, there are suburbs which you can move to. Today, moving from Ibusa to Asaba is very, very fast. Ugbolu is there. And this development is moving to Akwukwu Igbo in the nearest future. In fact, majorly, Asaba is one of the towns that most civil servants build houses easily. Most civil servants are landlords in this town.
Why did you say that?
Because of the way the land tenure system is. It is very easy operating within the capital, we are talking of suburb towns, neighbouring towns are growing and developing. Those who have foresight immediately bought lands because they are cheaper in these areas including cooperatives too in various ministries. So, it is normal that house rent is going to hike due to the present economic situation. Like in the FCT, it is the same thing. You go to Lagos, it is the same thing. You go to Enugu, it is the same thing. In Awka same, so, house rent hike is not peculiar to Asaba alone. It is a Nigerian factor.
So, government should also think of better policies. You can go and open up estates and have transportation system for civil servants. You can come and take on that. Like in Lagos, people move from Mainland to Island on a daily basis, going to work. It can happen here, Agbor to Asaba. It is 30 minutes on your own personal ride.
But when you look at what you are saying now, with the present economic situation, how do you cope with this? How can the civil servants in particular cope?
The present economic situation is not peculiar to Delta State. It is a common factor in Nigeria now. And we should not always forget what led us to where we are now. It was simply the way and manner fuel subsidy was removed. That is what brought about this hike today. And because basically, our economy is centred on our oil and another thing we have to look into is the individual; the private sector has to help government. We should borrow a leave from our neighbours in Anambra and abroad.
Help government in what way?
Industrialisation, the private sector can come in and they can also give jobs.
You know, when you are talking about industrialisation, it is always very easy. But the electric power supply; do you think it will help companies?
Companies are surviving. And we know that we have bands in our electric tariffs. So, we should not deceive ourselves. There are bands that there is always light. And it is these companies that these people sell it to.
At a very high cost?
Like 33 KVA lines. It is not as high as you think. You can’t compare it with fuelling. You have to be realistic. If you begin to run diesel, you can’t compare the costs. It is still cheaper, but another thing is that we Nigerians are the architects of our misfortune. Because of every business we do, we want to exploit every opportunity. Like now, vegetables are produced in Ugbolu here. But when they bring it to Asaba here, they begin to tell you at higher price. Do they used fuel to produce it?. They use manure, not fuel. So, these are things we have to also consider. We exploit ourselves at every given opportunity. And at the end of the day, we begin to complain about the government.
So we contributed too to the problem of Nigeria.
Okay, let’s come to Oshimili South, You are an ex-legislative leader. How would you rate the present local government chairman?
Well, the present government chairman has done very well. He has written his name in the walls of marble and history. He has played his own role. In as much as we know a lot of things can still be done, I think he has done very well as a person.
Can you attach submission to any achievement, any physical thing?
Yes, there are physical things. If you go into the council, you see the new legislative arm, fully completed and furnished. It is a wonderful project. I think there is also a new building going on inside there. I think that is going to be a highlight too. So, he is doing well. He has done well, he is still doing well. So, you understand what I am saying? He is trying, without any fear or favour.
Okay, we have a new king, Asagba of Asaba. Can you quickly assess him?
Yes, he is wonderful. He is a square peg in a square hole. He is one of the greatest things that have happened to us in Asaba, in recent time, we hope that he is going to continue in this line and direction.
So, generally, which message do you have for Deltans?
Well, the message I have for Deltans is that we should be steadfast. We should look before we leap, because any change in the present demography in the governorship is going to affect a lot of things, whether we like it or not, if we think of the long term effects, not the short term, because even the change we did at the national level, we are not enjoying it today in all sincerity, so we should not be in a hurry. The devil you know is better than the angel you don’t know.
Then to the Asaba people; I want to tell them to be steadfast, they should be focused, resilient and be more united. Thank you very much for this opportunity.
