Truthsayer
Delta State’s economic realities have taken a worrisome turn. The state’s internally generated revenue (IGR) is insufficient to sustain the basic costs of governance, let alone fund capital projects or improve public welfare. Without allocations from the federal purse, Delta State’s financial machinery grinds to a halt. This over reliance on federal resources leaves the state vulnerable and unable to chart an independent economic course.
As a direct consequence, the cost of living has soared to unbearable levels. Ordinary Deltans now face the grim choice between survival and dignity, forced to accept substandard goods and services just to get by. In local markets, the sight of desperate women scrambling for rotten tomatoes has become an all too common reflection of a struggling populace battered by inflation and poor policy direction.
Unfortunately, the government appears tone deaf to the cries of its people. There is no functional price control mechanism in place to protect citizens from exploitative market forces. Basic food items, household essentials, and daily utilities now cost twice as much as they did a year ago, pushing the poor further into deprivation while the state’s leadership looks the other way.
Instead of urgently addressing these pressing socioeconomic concerns, the state government has focused its energies on prestige projects that offer little value to the common man. Multi-bedroom duplexes are being erected for commissioners, eight-bedroom mansions, no less, at a time when many civil servants are owed salaries and pensioners languish in abject neglect.
Further compounding the situation is the government’s fixation on completing projects inherited from the immediate past administration of Senator Ifeanyi Okowa. While continuity in governance is commendable, it must not come at the expense of addressing new and more immediate challenges facing the people. Deltans need solutions for today, not recycled legacies from yesterday.
The absence of inclusive economic planning has crippled small businesses and discouraged local enterprise. Young entrepreneurs struggle against stifling policies, high taxation, and poor infrastructure. Without targeted interventions to empower local industries and farmers, the state’s unemployment and poverty indices will only continue to rise.
Public disillusionment is at an all-time high. The disconnect between government policies and the lived realities of the people has eroded trust and goodwill. What Deltans demand are leaders who prioritize welfare over wealth accumulation, development over decoration, and human capital over hollow monuments.
It is high time the Delta State government recalibrated its priorities. The people deserve responsive leadership, sustainable economic policies, and a governance model that places their welfare above elite indulgence. Anything less is a disservice to the spirit of democracy and a betrayal of the social contract.