O foolish Uduaghan! Who has bewitched you?

It is no longer news that Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, the incumbent governor of Delta State is a confused man. Since the forced exit of his cousin and benefactor, James Ibori, the governor has gradually lost grip on his office and his popularity within the state has continued to plummet. He is the chief security officer of the state, yet he can’t guarantee his own safety. Afraid of being stoned by Delta indigenes, who say he has not delivered on his campaign promises, Uduaghan now commissions state projects at night, usually during the wee hours of the morning.

Uduaghan is so dysfunctional and out of touch with his aides, that he took visiting governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State with him to commission a hospital that had not yet been supplied with any equipment. After cutting the tape, he proceeded to lead his guest into the hospital for an official tour, but was quickly stopped by his aide who embarrassingly informed him that the hospital had no equipment to show.
Uduaghan’s public Tirade.

The governor recently warned one of his commissioners at a public function in the presence of other Delta State government cabinet members to desist from bothering him with calls and text messages. “I hope you realize that I am the executive governor of this state. I do not want you to call me again. I will call you when I need you”, he arrogantly cautioned the commissioner.

Some commissioners, who preferred to be anonymous, have complained of their inability to meet with the governor on numerous occasions, whom they said has no time for any of them. “We hardly see the governor, except when there is a public function somewhere within the state. You dare not book for an appointment when he does not need to see you. He seems not to trust anyone. The Ministries are run without adequate funding but we dare not say it aloud because it’s better being ‘in’ than ‘out’”, they complained.

On another occasion, at an enlarged meeting of the executives of the Delta State Elders Council, led by Chief Gabriel Sefia, an enraged Gov. Uduaghan said to the chagrin of his host, "I have refused to be pushed away. Mr. President needs the Governor of Delta State and the Governor of Delta State needs Mr. President. I have easy access to Mr. President because Mr. President recognizes that I am the Governor of a critical state in Nigeria."

Against public knowledge Uduaghan insists he inherited a full treasury, yet Uduaghan has refused to pay many contractors for the past three years. To be paid for job done in Delta State, a contractor must be an Uduaghan sycophant, which in his mindset means loyalist. The selective payment system, huhuonline.com learnt is to ensure that money does not get into the hands of Delta indigenes suspected to be non-loyalists or those who have opposing views. This goes against the concept of a democracy which means a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

Now Uduaghan is at war with his commissioners over loyalty and allegiance. It is agreed that no one can serve two masters, and within hierarchies loyalty has to be given to authority. But loyalty must be to the country, the state and its people, not to its office holders. Paranoid and embattled, Gov. Uduaghan opined that to continue to be part of his cabinet, commissioners must not be seen openly fraternizing with opposition.

To this end he has engaged the services of a biased and untrained spy network, led by his brother-in-law to monitor the activities of his aides suspected to have ties with the opposition.

In the same vein, Dr. Uduaghan, has threatened to sack disloyal public office appointees, and has issued them a two-week ultimatum to retrace their steps or be removed from office. “Your loyalty must be 100 per cent to this administration. I am giving you two weeks to resign, if you feel you cannot be loyal anymore”, he stated.
Uduaghan affirmed that he would take a decisive decision on those officials whose loyalties were in doubt. Hear him: “For those of you who are neither here nor there, l will take a decision and choose those we can work with. You cannot break or abandon the oath of allegiance you took.”

It could also be recalled that early this year the state governor sacked six of his commissioners whom he alleged had pursuits that were contrary to that of his administration. He has also relieved some of his aides who were said to have betrayed his trust.

Battle for the soul of Action Congress

Unsure of their job security and political relevance within the polity, some commissioners who have already being blacklisted by Uduaghan are fraternizing with key opposition leaders and governorship aspirants, thereby posing political threats to the Governor, who is facing tough times ahead in the 2011 general elections.
In his bid for survival, Uduaghan is said to have made frantic attempts to secure a truce with the Action Congress (AC) party in the state and has allegedly spent an undisclosed amount of money on the party which is seen to be the only vibrant party throughout the South. But he is also said to be lamenting the ordeal of seeking recognition with a new party.

Huhuonline.com has discovered that the former AC governorship candidate in Delta state, Mr. Peter Okocha abandoned the party after he discovered the romance between the state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan and leadership of the AC party. Others say he was urged to jettison his membership by some strong PDP chieftains within and outside Delta state. Okocha resigned from AC along with his supporters.

Since this development, the AC has had no governorship candidate for the forthcoming 2011 governorship election in Delta state. “The AC cannot have a candidate for now because it was founded by PDP. We have to determine what happens there. We are one family”, a PDP chieftain had boasted.

The governor had approached the party as a last minute option in case his candidacy in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faced any problems, but now to his chagrinDC 20037. The properties were purchased at the cost of US$1,180,000.00 and $3,250,000.00 respectively.

Little wonder then that Uduaghan inherited a state treasury from Ibori depleted to the tune of N40 billion!

Emmanuel Emeke Asiwe is an Alumni of Harvard Business School, and can be reached @ publisher@huhuonline.com