By Oluwayemi Davidson, Warri
As political permutations for 2023 gather momentum, a group, Agege New Delta Model (ANDEM) has been unveiled in Warri, Delta State with the mandate to work for a structural change in the governance of Delta in the next political dispensation.
The group which is believed to be subtly routing for the emergence of the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege as Governor of Delta State in the next political dispensation lamented that Delta at 30 has continually remained crawling without the necessary infrastructural development to show for its long existence.
ANDEM charged those presently at the helms of affairs in Delta to desist from engaging in white elephant projects at the detriment of grassroots development across the State.
The group urged the incumbent government in Delta to “stop draining our commonwealth in the name of spurious projects that are not seen or felt”.
ANDEM declared, “The PDP government in our State is on a mop up of our treasury and that must stop now. Every missing kobo at the fullness of time shall be accounted for. This is a warning to the bandwagon of looters that warped and jaundiced electoral system has foisted on us since 1999. And to the operators of that system, we are saying enough is enough”.
Addressing journalists at the inauguration of ANDEM in Warri on Saturday, the Convener of the group, Pastor Edewor Egedegbe noted with concern that “Delta State at 30 has continually remained a crawling baby that has refused to grow due mainly to deliberate acute malnutrition”.
He added, “Governance in our State since creation and subsequent birth of democracy in the world’s most populated black nation has permanently remained in permanent reverse gear, no thanks to the operators of political system who have vowed to keep Delta perpetually in a state of gross underdevelopment”.
According to him, the formation of ANDEM by people of like minds “was aimed at bringing the desired change to the State through the man who has shown capacity, leadership, tact, brilliance, tolerance, forebearance, understanding, ability, sincerity of purpose and honesty, in a model we consider new and germane to evolving a prosperous masses, in a genuinely democratised Delta State”.
He remarked that the ground breaking and unveiling of ANDEM is necessary “considering the fact that this project is a creation of inspiration from above and a yearning from the people” adding that “millions of Deltans who crave for change and accelerated development have been routing silently for the emergence of Senator Omo-Agege as Governor of the State, come 2023”.
Pastor Egedegbe noted that ANDEM was out for a serious business of democratising Delta State in the real sense of the word.
He hinted that structures of the socio-political group would be built across the entire state in due course assuring that “ANDEM shall have representatives at the local government level, wards and units, even up to the family units, worship centres, schools, markets and every segment of the state all in our bid to ensure that every Deltan is a stakeholder in this project”.