David Edevbie is a name that resonates with Excellence and this has become a natural value which reflects in his work ethics and governance execution.
When your principal acknowledges your diligence and commitment, it gives more credibility to your values. In Governor Okowa’s words on David Edevbie he states, “He is one of the most hardworking, charismatic and disciplined political office holders in the country.
“David Edevbie has continued to offer genuine leadership at various levels of governance…By dint of hard work and discipline, you have continued to carve a niche for yourself by maintaining a charismatic and untainted leadership style that has endeared you to many Deltans and Nigerians.
“Your commitment to doing things differently as it is done in developed climes are some of the worthy and commendable traits that have exemplified your service over the years,” Governor Okowa said of him.
No other aspirant matches that description nor the educational credentials, professional experience and national and international experience and contacts in corporate and public service which Edevbie brings.
It is unimaginable, indeed impossible, that Okowa with his passion for the development of the state and the leadership of the PDP for the pride and glory of the party, would ever contemplate substituting such hybrid to offer Deltans less.
The people are already in agreement that, at this point, Edevbie is best positioned to carry on with the development agenda of the state as set out by Governor Ibori, accentuated by Governor Uduaghan with his Delta Beyond Oil initiatives and deepened by Governor Okowa through his SMART agenda.
He has left no one in doubt about his preparedness to usher in the modernisation of the state into the realities of the 21st century and the expectations of the millennials.
In politics however, there must be naysayers who feel they can only benefit by mortgaging the overall interest of the people for their selfish ends, notwithstanding their insignificance.
Among such is those who accuse Edevbie for contesting against Okowa in the 2014 primaries for a tenure seen as the turn of Delta North.
Suffice to say that Okowa has pointed out that rotation was at best an unwritten agreement. This underpinned his entry into the contest as did others from the three Senatorial Districts in the 2006 primaries.
For Edevbie, people contest for different reasons including to announce their name, test their popularity or to negotiate for appointments but, no matter the contestants, the PDP leadership has always resolved in favour of rotation to the deserving zone, to maintain equity, justice and peace.
It all remains friendly and sportsmanlike in Delta PDP as would be seen in Okowa’s choice of Edevbie, after same 2014 primaries, to serve as his Commissioner of Finance and Chief of Staff which are perhaps the most sensitive and critical positions in any administration.
It is yet to be seen if Okowa who is well known as a strong Christian, lives with any unforgiving grudge against anyone, not to talk of Edevbie whom he openly calls his “dear friend.”
The worst crime however in the politics of rotation would be the one committed by Sen. Emmanuel Aguariavwodo, a fringe aspirant in the current race, who flagrantly disregarded the understanding of power-sharing to contest in the 2006 primaries with the mind of taking over from Governor Ibori, inordinately for an Urhobo to succeed an Urhobo.
Worst still, he dropped the sensitive position of Chief Executive of NDDC which was zoned to Delta State, to go into the contest, thereby short-changing Deltans in the affairs of the NDDC.
So far, no one has held that act against Senator Aguariavwodo as evidence of disdain for other zones and ethnic groups. Whilst Okowa insists that any who will succeed him must come with a rich sense of equity, justice and fairness, the parameters for determining these should most assuredly be found in the outlook of each aspirant as demonstrated in their public service records in the service of Deltans.
Fairness is better achieved through the efficiency of public service institutions. It is when efficiency is constrained by undue human interference that the system is exposed to inappropriate acts of discrimination, corruption, nepotism, and parochialism.
As things stand in our state and our country today, the way forward lies in reforms and the modernisation of public service institutions by which government can reach the people and the people can access government without influence peddling.
Edevbie represents this ideal and demonstrated it under Governor James Ibori with the reform of the government treasury management system and the introduction of cash budgeting.
Pulling away from the old order, the reform enabled transactions to be systematically processed with constituents and contractors able to track the status of their approvals without having to have personal contact with the Finance Commissioner.
Understandably, especially for a society that had been used to pushing and shoving at one another and benefiting from the chaos, it is because of the reforms that some of the contractors started the propaganda of snobbery against Edevbie – for not opening up himself and the treasury office for lobbyists to compromise.
Still, Edevbie’s modernisation agenda is the only right way to go. It is the global best practice in governance and financial management for any society that wants to advance.
The opposite is the recipe for favouritism, bribery and nepotism, the scourges that have left Nigeria in prostrate and sorry state.
We need David to help modernize Delta State.
