The extreme propaganda of exaggerated achievements being adopted by Senator Omo-Agege & Representatives member, Rev Francis Waive is reprehensible.
Both lawmakers are creating National Assembly scenes and media hypes about seeking laws to establish federal schools in Delta Central when such dramas are exercised in futility because establishing schools is an executive government function, not of legislative overzealousness.
Of all broken down federal roads and educational institutions begging for attention in Delta, it is a shame that Omo-Agege and Waive are bragging about the provision of inconsequential electricity transformers.
Again, Omo-Agege has no moral justification to query Delta ruling PDP of having stagnated development in the state because Omo-Agege is a big beneficiary of the culture of mindless pillage of the state treasury and Omo-Agege remains half PDP, half APC by convenience.
Based on politics of extreme propaganda to win undeserved relevance, Deputy Senate President, Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege has established a Federal Polytechnic in the Delta Central senatorial district he represents.
Omo-Agege wants to make the public believe he came about his Federal Polytechnic from an establishment bill he influenced in the National Assembly (NASS) to pass after theatrical debates on the floor of the Houses by the lawmakers.
While the majority of gullible praise singers and rental social media canvassers continue to glorify Omo-Agege for the bill proposal drama, the President never needed any passed bill to grant approval for the Polytechnic which will only exist as a signpost till October 2022, that if the proposed takeoff will be matched by action.
The President never assented to any polytechnic bill. He merely directed approval for the setting up of the school through the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education under which the Board of Technical Education (NBTE) and sundry regulators function.
Much like Omo-Agegge, his House of Representative’s disciple, Rev Francis Waive is playing to the gallery with 1st and 2nd Readings for a bill to establish a Federal Nursing and Midwifery school for Otu-Jeremi in Ughelli South. They are both deliberately travelling the Israelites routes to score cheap popularity for 2023.
If Omo-Agege and Waive don’t know, we have to enlighten them on how universities, polytechnics and schools of nursing are established. There are existing National University Commission Act, National Board for Technical Education Act and Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria Act.
These acts set the guidelines for the establishment of universities, polytechnics and schools of Nursing and Midwifery. There exist a law to set up Nigeria Law Schools as stipulated by the Legal Education Act through the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and Chief Justice of Nigeria.
So you don’t need another law to set up higher institutions.
The same laws are applicable to the establishment of private universities, polytechnics and other higher institutions. When has the legislature become the executive government and judiciary in Nigeria? It is the responsibility of the executive government and individuals to set up schools at all levels as far as they meet up the set requirements. So it is in all developed countries in the world.
It’s not the legislative power/authority of the National Assembly of Nigeria (NASS) to debate approvals for universities, polytechnics or the Nursing & Midwifery Schools as Francis Waive is also acting to win to Otu-Jeremi town in Ughelli South. It is the prerogative of the Executive Arm of Government, using regulatory institutions like National University Commission (NUC), National Board For Technical Education(NBTE) and sundry agencies set up by law to grant approvals for the establishment of higher schools/colleges/universities, and regulate Higher schools/colleges/universities.
The role of a serious-minded lawmaker is simply to influence the Executive government as the first step, not acting bill passage drama. For instance, former President Jonathan and his Ministers of Education never asked for the NASS bill to set up the seven or so Federal universities he set up. He simply gave the NUC approval through the Education Ministry and they came into being. That’s why no law was debated before the Federal University of Petroleum Resources Ugbomro-Effurun (FUPRE) was kicked off.
If Omo-Agege hadn’t delayed the polytechnic quest with drama, perhaps he should have gotten President Buhari, his Principal’s consent through the NBTE early enough to start the institution in his home town of Orogun. Which is why it was wrong for Omo-Agege to have again taken the Israelite journey to seek a Law School Campus, again for the same Orogun.
The clannish appeal of Omo-Agege’s desperation to bring schools only to his native home of Orogun town in Delta Central shall preoccupy our minds another day, but I dare say the speedy of light with which Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike got approval for a Port Harcourt Campus of the Nigerian Law School has exposed Omo-Agege as playing cheap popularity seeking propaganda on his quest for signboard tertiary educational institutions in Delta Central.
Under Ovie Omo-Agege’s nose, while he and Francis Waive induced needless debate dramas on bills for Law School and Nursing School, a determined Governor Wike simply told the Council for Legal Education, “give Rivers people approval for a Port Harcourt Law School campus and Rivers Government will deliver the best law school campus ever, in six months.”
As we speak, Wike got the approval within a month and he is on course with massive construction in a choice location in Port Harcourt. He didn’t need to beg NASS to come up with a bill before he got the needed approval.
Disgraced and exposed as it were for making much motion with less speed, an edgy Omo-Agege has decided to get at Wike, trying to scuttle the Port Harcourt Law School by pushing the Orogun Law School with the restriction clause that only two law schools should be per zone and it must be one in his native home town of Orogun added to the existing Yenagoa, Bayelsa Campus for the South-South.
How far can such a bill travel? Absolutely dead on arrival. No lawmaker will support the killing of a law school bill fast nearing completion to becoming the best in the country, just to pave way for a promissory campus in Orogun town going through an inconsequential house debate in the guise of seeking approval.
You don’t need a law to establish another campus of the law school. All you need is Presidential approval through the Justice Ministry and its regulatory organs, mainly the Council for Legal Education.
Moreso, the Wike approach has also exposed the failure of too much concentration of powers in the federal administration. It’s obvious that the nation needs more law school campuses with the increasing population of law graduates every year, but the federal government alone cannot do it all.
Without River State Government, under Governor Wike chested out to fund the building of the approved Port Harcourt Law School Campus from scratch to finish, the Federal government would not have given thought to the idea. So, rather than grandstanding, Omo-Agege and his NASS colleagues should advocate devolution of powers to allow federating states to determine their own power generation, and distribution, airports, sea ports, railways, and sundry key infrastructures to fast track national growth.
We must also remind Omo-Agege that he must guide against struggling to bring into Delta Central, federal schools that will exist as signposts, eventually start on temporary sites on heavy rental fees for several years while the main campuses development are stagnated in politically awarded contracts that are often shoddily executed.
That is the fate of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE) and the Nigeria Maritime University (NMU) are suffering today. Ovie Omo-Agege and Francis Waive must not bring temporary sites schools to Delta. The unjustified N13Billion Federal government paid Tompolo for the land and scanty structures on which NMU was opened could have gone a long way in starting a permanent campus and building substantially before kick-starting the school.
So beyond vague approvals, Omo-Agege must ensure that the Orogun Federal Poly does not open as a temporary site in one of his own country homes. He must ensure the federal government mobilises enough funds, raises substantial befitting structures before rushing to employ to start academic activities.
Since the opening of FUPRE and NMU, the management and governing boards have been fighting over the schools development projects, many of the contracts being raised at bloated costs and awarded to cronies who turn out shoddy jobs. Consequently, the schools have been left strangulated in arrested development, save for the efforts of interventionist development partners including the PTF, oil firms and sundry donors.
We are equally amused at Omo-Agege bragging about having attracted so much to Delta, especially his Delta Central District. He lists the provision of transformers and employments for his constituents. What a shame? What propaganda?
NNPC just conducted internal tests to raise more management level manpower. We know of one or two staffs of Delta Central extraction who scored far above the written test cut-off marks. These persons got introduced to Omo-Agege to assist in pushing them through. None of them got through as others with far lower scores were picked above them.
We are appalled at Omo-Agege bragging about the provision of transformers and promising to further commit N5Billion to provide more. And he says it like such monies would have come from his private pockets. A Deputy Senate President, committed to refurbished transformers provision. What happened to intervention on federal roads in Delta Central? How many has he done? Federal schools and institutions in Delta are not being well funded. What is he doing about it?
Even on electricity, the greatest challenge before the majority of rural Central communities is not transformers. Most communities are thrown into darkness because residents can’t afford the overbearing bulk billing by the Benin Disco. We are yet to find the need assessment that informed Omo-Agege’s commitment to providing N5Billion for transformers.
Assuming without conceding that the idea is feasible and an honest one, we bet even if he commits N20Billion to provide transformers, there won’t be any significant improvement. Transformers won’t cancel the accumulated outrageous debts for power that was never supplied.
We are also amused at Omo-Agege casting aspersions at the thieving ruling PDP hegemony in Delta state. What moral justification has Omo-Agege to accuse PDP of stagnated development in Delta. Omo-Agege was Special Duties Commissioner and later Secretary to Delta government (SSG) when Thief James Ibori pillaged Delta treasury before nemesis caught up with him in the UK.
Omo-Agege enjoyed the undeserved quick wealth Ibori spread among disciples of his rogue political dynasty over Delta Government at the expense of the people. The last time we checked, Omo-Agege didn’t renounce PDP based on policy dissatisfaction. He lost an election primaries ticket to Ighoyota Amori and desperately changed party card to cling to Ogboru’s popularity to enter the Senate.
Omo-Agege has been a major beneficiary of the thieving Ibori dynasty and roundly should share the blame on the stagnation Delta has suffered under PDP. We are strongly in support of the school of thought that Omo-Agege remains a two faced card carrying member of the PDP, one leg APC, one leg PDP.
The only known opposition leader in Delta is Great Ogboru and not Omo-Agege. The Deputy Senate President has been a PDP chieftain. Who is Omo-Agege deceiving?
Ahead of 2023, our advice is that Deltans should be wise. The likes of Omo-Agege cannot be trusted in the political space. They don’t deserve mention in the political equation. He must not be taken serious. We need a change from the thieving Ibori dynasty.
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