Uduaghan to Utomi: Contest councillorship election to learn about governance

IMMEDIATE past governor of Delta State, Dr Emnanuel Uduaghan, has urged ace economist, Professor Pat Utomi, to contest for a councillorship position in his ward to learn the ropes of government in the state.
Uduaghan made the derisive remark in Asaba, on Friday during a stakeholders’ meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He debunked the allegations of financial mismanagement against the state government by Professor Utomi at an event in Warri and urged him not sacrifice the truth on the altar of political expediencies.
Uduaghan urged the Lagos-based economist to consider actualising his political ambition by first contesting for councillorship position to get basic facts on issues of governance in the state.
He described Utomi as more of a bogus ideas, but lacking in the practical execution of his ideologies.
Uduaghan disclosed that as the governor of the state, his administration made Professor Utomi chairman and member of several committees as opportunities for the professor to contribute to the development of the state, but did not show the goodwill.
“If Professor Utomi attends any of the meetings, he will not spend more than five minutes,” Uduaghan claimed.
“He bragged about his reach internationally, how he was going to bring international investors and we had to partner with him to organise a business forum outside the country with Nigerians in the diaspora for us to get the investors. But he did not spend five minutes before he left us, no investor came to the state through him,” Uduaghan said.
The former governor challenged Deltans to put him on the hot seat on his stewardship concerning projects that were in his care.
“You people should ask Prof, where is the Silicon Valley? He took us to his home town, Ibusa for the foundation laying ceremony of Silicon Valley, till date, there is nothing to show that the project has commenced,” he said.