While acknowledging visible strides in physical infrastructure across Delta State, Chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Amb. Dr. Temisan O. Louis, has raised strong concerns over what he describes as an alarming, systemic neglect of human capital development under the administration of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori.
Addressing members of the press, Louis argued that while asphalt and concrete projects provide visible political highlights, a state’s true measure of development lies in the economic dignity, employment, and living standards of its populace.
”Infrastructure without human capital development is building a mansion for empty stomachs,” Louis stated. “Governor Oborevwori may be making progress with civil engineering works, but a state cannot truly thrive when its educated youth are left stranded without jobs, and its industrial base lies in complete ruin.”
“The worsening rate of graduate unemployment across Delta State, noting that the lack of productive industries has forced thousands of university and polytechnic graduates into riding commercial tricycles (Keke Napep) as their sole means of survival.
”Today in Delta State, we have reached a bizarre tipping point where the fleet of Keke Napep on our roads outnumbers the passengers waiting to board them,” Louis remarked. “When degree holders are reduced to competing over micro-fares on the streets, it represents a complete failure of state-level economic planning and human empowerment.”
” Delta has largely devolved into a “nightlife and service economy.” Apart from hotels, lounges, and bars springing up on every corner, there are virtually no manufacturing plants or production-oriented industries absorbing the state’s workforce.
”Hotels and lounges cannot be the primary economic driver of a state rich in oil, maritime potential, and agriculture,” he stated. “A service-only economy focused on leisure creates low-yield, informal jobs while draining the long-term wealth of our populace.”
”Oborevwori should to shift focus from low-impact cosmetic works to aggressively partnering with federal authorities and private investors to revive Delta’s dead industrial giants.
”African Timber and Plywood (AT&P), Sapele: Once one of the world’s largest timber manufacturing complexes, now abandoned.
”Delta Steel Company (DSC), Ovwian-Aladja: A massive industrial asset that once held the key to Nigeria’s industrialization.
”Delta Seaports (Warri, Sapele, Koko, and Burutu): Maritime gateways left underutilized while state youth remain idle.
”If Governor Oborevwori wants to leave a lasting legacy, he must step up economic drives to resuscitate AT&P Sapele, resolve the bottlenecks surrounding Delta Steel Company, and bring our sea ports back to full commercial viability. Converting abandoned factories back into functional industrial hubs is the only way to build real human capital and create thousands of direct, sustainable jobs.”
”The state government should immediately recalibrate its economic policies, balance its capital expenditure between physical structures and industrial revival, and set up clear frameworks for graduate employment, vocational reskilling, and enterprise development.
”We acknowledge where the government is attempting to work in civil construction, but asphalt does not put food on the table, nor does it employ a graduate,” Louis concluded. “It is time for Governor Oborevwori to balance the equation by putting the Delta people and industrial production first.”
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