The Delta State C,oordinator of Renewed Hope Ambassadors, Rt. Funkekeme Solomon, has said the tour of the 25 councils in the state is to acquaint the people with the dynamics and accomplishments of the reforms effected by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu since he came into office in 2023.
He said the fundamental and bold decisions taken by President Tinubu have had profound effects on the economy and needed to be explained to the people.
Speaking on DBS Radio programme, Labour and Servicom, Solomon who is also the Senior Policy Adviser to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, said that in removing the subsidy on petrol, President Tinubu laid the foundation for a revolutionary review of funding of all tiers of government.
“First, the humongous amount paid as subsidy to the cabal that held the nation hostage under the subsidy regime was dismantled. The Federal Government was paying more than N4 trillion yearly to people involved in the trade. That was a lot of money that went to a privileged few. It did not impact on the life of the people.
“Having removed the subsidy, more money is now available for the various tiers of government to provide services and infrastructure for the people,” he said.
For the 774 local government areas across the country, Solomon said the change in their status is tremendous. “Now, councils are providing infrastructure – building health centres, classrooms and rehabilitating roads in their area. That was not happening before. Here in Delta State, the councils no longer have to be regularly bailed out in the payment of salaries as was the case before President Tinubu came into office. That is no longer happening.”
This has given vent to the concept of local government autonomy, given the country a true federal status.
Similarly, Solomon said states now have more resources to advance the provision of infrastructure. He noted that more quality roads are being built by Governor Oborevwori as a result of the increased allocations from the Federation Account.
On the curbing of insecurity in the country, he said that by getting the constitution to be amended to provide for state Police, President Tinubu has given governors the power to nip insecurity in the bud rather than wade through the labyrinth of bureaucracy before getting the federal police to address security issues.
On education, the Renewed Hope Ambassadors coordinator noted that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) the president introduced has processed over 1,659,853 applications and disbursed over ₦322.69 billion. The funds cover 319 institutional partners, supporting over 1.66 million student loan applicants with institutional fees and direct upkeep allowances.
He said that the reforms effected by President Tinubu had to be explained to the people as despite the initial challenges, Deltans are seeing the appropriateness of the bold decisions made by the President.
On the recently concluded Delta Economic and Investment Summit, Solomon said it has laid the pathway for Delta State to become an industrial hub in the country. According to him, Governor Oborevwori is driving the weaning of the state from over dependence on oil and gas to exploitation of its agricultural and technological potentials.
He said a number of deals were struck with investors from various countries, including China, Brazil, Malaysia and European countries.
“To prevent these deals from stalling, the Delta State Investment Development Agency (DIDA) has been tasked with tracking the summit’s Deal Room engagements directly from conceptualisation to full financial closure. And Governor Oborevwori himself is directly involved in monitoring the execution and actualisation of the investment deals reached. In a short while, Deltans will see the outcome of the summit bear fruits”, Solomon said.
