Uduaghan confesses

 Governor, Dr  Uduaghan of Delta State who took his oath of office on Sunday for a second term, confessed that  he knew the risk that was involved when he decided to embark on certain reforms during his first term.
Addressing the crowd that gathered at the Cenotaph, Asaba,  swearing in ceremony, Dr  Emmanuel Uduaghan listed the circumstances which led the drastic actions in that direction, which many saw as stepping on toes.
According to him, “when I took the oath of office in 2007, I asked myself, do I undertake reform or should I allow business as usual, I chose reform. I knew the risks. I knew I wanted to see changes and development in the state. I knew things needed to change and be done differently and I also knew those used to business as usual were going to resist the reforms. I knew they were going to fight. They did fight, most times very dirty, but I was, however, determined to press ahead.
“When I assumed office four years ago, I was entrusted with a state that depended only on one source of revenue,  oil. A state that was the command cent-re of the big crisis arising from the Niger Delta agitation.
“Insecurity was rife, kidnappings, especially of expatriates, were frequent. It drove away businesses and frightened investors. Our oil infrastructure was not spared and pipelines were  targets of attack. Our youths in the fore-front of this fight for justice were determined to make the point that enough was enough.
“It was a difficult period and we bore the pain of the crisis. Our oil revenue declined drastically and we suffered. We are only now trying to recover from the difficulties of that crisis.
The experience of that period reinforced our determination in keeping with our vision that we must change the economic structure of the state. That we must break away from the status as a mono-product economy and build other sustainable sources of revenue.