Delta State Governor, Senator (Dr.) Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa has made his
first key appointment into the Delta State Government cabinet and picked
Rt. Hon. Festus Ovie Agas, as the new Secretary to the Delta State
Government, SSG.
Governor Okowa made the surprise but highly anticipated announcement to a packed hall filled with well wishers at a post
Thanksgiving Service reception, on Sunday May 31, 2015, held at the
Delta State Event centre, Asaba, in a dramatic manner, after a short
speech thanking Deltans for their support all through the electioneering
period and seeking their partnership and prayers as he takes up the
mantle of leadership of Delta State.
The hall erupted in a
joyous euphoria of singing and dancing immediately the name of Hon. Ovie
Agas was announced as the next Delta SSG, by Governor Okowa and he was
swamped byan ecstatic crowd and waltzed out of the hall with excitement
and fanfare, to the great delight of the Governor, who also
congratulated the new Secretary to the Delta State Government on his
well deserved appointment.
Speaking exclusively to newsmen
shortly after the announcement, Governor Okowa said that there had never
been any doubts in his mind whatsoever over the appointment of Hon Ovie
Agas as the his SSG, but he had decided to wait for the auspicious
moment provided by the Thanksgiving Service reception to test the
popularity and acceptance of his decision to the large gathering of
Deltans, in order to be sure he had done the right thing.
Governor Okowa, who noted that the position of the Secretary to the
State Government was a critical office that required the appointment of a
seasoned and level headed personality, described Hon. Agas as a
dedicated and committed Deltan who will bring his vast wealth of
political experience and sound administrative acumen to bear on the new
job, adding that he was quite satisfied with the response of Deltans to
the appointment.
“You can see that the appointment was well
received by Deltans which means that we have done the right thing with
his appointment”, Okowa said.
Okowa then promised that more
appointments would be announced very soon and all the appointments would
reflect the principles of equity, fairness and justice in line with the
three senatorial zones in the state, which he has pledged would be the
hallmark of his administration.
Hon. Festus Ovie Agas was a
former member and Deputy Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly,
where he represented Ughelli North II constituency. He was then
appointed as the Director General of the Delta State Direct Labour
Agency, DLA, by the Governor Uduaghan administration.
Hon.
Festus Ovie Agas was made the Director General of the Okowa Campaign
Organization, in the wake of the electioneering season and the campaign
for the PDP Governorship primaries, a position he held, until December,
201 on the day Okowa emerged the PDP’s standard bearer for the April 11
election.
He then became the Director of Publicity in the PDP
Governorship Campaign Organization that worked tirelessly and with great
courage and resilience to ensure that Senator Ifeanyi Okowa emerged
victorious as the Governor of Delta State.
The appointment of
the position of the Secretary to the Delta State Government had been
shrouded and trailed with a great frenzy of anticipation, immediately
after the swearing-in of Senator Ifeanyi Okowa as the Governor of Delta
State on May 29, 2015.
Nobody was quite sure which senatorial
zone would produce the SSG since the position was not subject to such
political considerations, but the educated guess on the streets of Delta
had been that one of the key figures in the Okowa campaign organization
would bag the job.
Word had been rife that three prominent
Deltans had already been identified by public opinion to be the front
runners for the position, considering the status and stature of their
supposed sponsors.
Joseph Otumara, former Delta state Health
Commissioner, was said to be the candidate of the Olu of Warri and
erstwhile Governor Uduaghan, while former Commissioner of Finance George
Orogun and former Commissioner for Economic Planning, David Edevbie,
who also contested the PDP Governorship primary with Senator Okowa, were
also said to have the backing of former Governor James Ibori, for the
job.
Speculations had reached fever pitch when the name of
George Orogun had been spread across the Social media as the next Delta
SSG, but in a move, which has drawn great similarities and is
reminiscent of the appointment of the immediate past SSG, Comrade
Ovuozuorie Macaulay in the second tenure of the Uduaghan administration,
Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, had kept the identity of
the person so close to his chest that, it was even hinted that the
appointee was not even aware of his choice until the dramatic
announcement at the event centre.
The spontaneous outpouring of
joy and happiness that erupted when the name of Rt. Hon. Ovie Agas was
announced as the SSG was a clear manifestation of the endorsement by
Deltans of the very first appointment of Senator Okowa as the Governor
of Delta State.
It was also a definitive statement that he has
not only done the right thing with the appointment, but has further
consolidated his acceptance and reaffirmed the confidence of Deltans
that indeed his administration will be fair, just and equitable to all
Deltans, just as he had promised in his inauguration speech.
