ZIK GBEMRE FROWNS AT OMO-AGEGE, WAIVE OVERREACHING LEGISLATIVE EXUBERANCE: WE’RE VINDICATED  

* Having been vindicated on our stand against Senator Omo-Agege and House Representatives Member, Francis Waive’s overreaching meddling in Executive responsibilities in the name of fighting for federal schools for their constituencies, we will continue to fault them till they stop the embarrassment.

* Agege especially must stop glorifying self for provision of refurbished transformers to his constituency or winning of signpost schools in Orogun town, and face genuine stewardship of tackling collapsed federal roads in Delta Central.

It is worrisome how majority of ignorant, gullible or stomach infrastructure induced followers encourage irresponsible leadership among political office holders.

The notion that once people get into political offices, they become and must be seen as perfect and infallible and cannot be questioned when they fall short of basic expectation is not helping us.

To begin to reprimand and resort to name calling against those who insist on decorum among office holders is even a more dangerous dimension to promoting bad leadership.

For some time, in the desperation to gain cheap popularity ahead of 2023, Deputy Senate President, Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege and political godson, Rev Francis Waive, Senator Representing Delta Central Senatorial District and Member representing Udu, Ughelli South/North Federal Constituency, have been on a media hype introducing multiple bills for establishment of various federal tertiary schools in Delta state.

We acknowledge that a federal polytechnic now exist, yet only on a signpost, at Orogun town in Ughelli North and a bill for a Law School Campus also in Orogun town has been read at the Upper House, through the Deputy Senate President. For Hon Waive, two bills, for a federal School of Nursing/Midwifery, Otu-Jeremi, a separate one for a Federal Medical Centre in Ovwian, Udu LGA are also going through legislative struggles.

While we are not against increased federal presence, not against federal schools in Delta Central, we maintain the attention seeking exuberance by Agege and Waive are meaningless distractions to the legislature.

It is not the business of lawmakers to establish schools. It is the Executive responsibility of the President through relevant ministries and regulating agencies already established by laws. That is why the Federal Polytechnic in Orogun town wasn’t won by Omo-Agege through his theatrical bills. It was approved by the President, not by assent to any bill, but by the sheer executive directive to the Ministry of Education and the National Board For Technical Education, (NBTE) charged with regulating Polytechnic education.

Deputy Senate President, Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege and his political godson, Rev Francis Waive, should stop abdicating their legislative duties, including genuine oversights to meddle into executive duties. If they are so drunk on raising bills for every wish for their constituents, why didn’t they raise, debate and pass bills for the refurbished transformers they are singing their praises over in Delta Central?

Why pass laws for the establishment of a medical centre? What does it take to establish a health centre that will require a law to establish? What is the function of the Ministry of health? Has Waive and his mentor, Omo-Agege taken over the functions of the Ministry of Health at the state and federal levels?

What concerns lawmakers with the establishment of medical infrastructures that it will require special laws to establish? Is it everything that Waive and Omo-Agege will play politics with? From the establishment of higher schools to medical centres, what a shame. Is this a trick to deceive the public that they are working?

When their constituents needed them most during debate and passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), how much courage did they display in defending the expectations of their people? Why are Waive and Omo-Agege not bothered about the rising debt profile from President Buhari’s blind borrowing that even the next 20 generations can’t pay back?

Why not put pressure on his colleagues to halt the government from further borrowing rather than going about aiming to fabricate frivolous laws already in existence. There are existing government institutions charged with approvals for the granting of establishment of higher schools and medical centres/hospitals.

If waive and Omo-Agege want to help, they should approach the appropriate government authorities responsible for the establishment of the higher schools and medical centres. How many laws have the lawmakers enacted before the establishment of all the public and private hospitals/medical centres in Nigeria?

When we first pointed out the futility of their playing to the gallery to gain cheap attention, their clan of rental supporters called us names. We are happy we are being vindicated, by the NBA and other notable individuals and groups, that it is not the place of lawmakers to usurp executive responsibility, as the establishment of schools or hospitals.

Waive is hyping another bill for a law to establish a federal medical centre in Ovwian, Udu LGA, Delta. Again, the gullible public are being easily misled to believe in all these signpost higher schools and medical centres/hospitals by Francis Waive.

Waive and Omo-Agege should stop all of these busybodies to mislead the public. In Delta Central, no federal road is motorable in Delta Central. From Effurun to boundary Ologbo, Sapele to Eku, Effurun to Agbor, Ughelli to Asaba, all giving motorists nightmares.

Waive and Omo-Agege Agege should oversight the Executive, that President Buhari to intervene on these road infrastructures and pay more development attention to already existing Federal University of Petroleum  Resources, Ugbomro-Effurun (FUPRE) and Petroleum Training School, Effurun (PTI), which were not established by legislative dramas.