DELTA 2015: I AM THE BRIDGE BETWEEN THE YOUTHS AND ELDERS

Andrew Warri Foubiri

His name is Andrew Foubiri Warri. He is a medical doctor from Ijaw land. A young and vibrant man who has impacted positively on the lives of the less privileged. He has equally initiated the NDDC and the DESOPADEC free medical programme that have treated closed to 3 million in the past 13 years.
He is aspiring for the seat of the governor and he is seeking the support of Deltans.
He is seen in the state as a bridge between the youths and elders.
In this face-to-face interview with Deltans, he speaks on his plans for the state, why he is running under the platform of the PDP. He further bares his mind on the controversial PDP zoning formula.

Exerts.....

MAY WE KNOW YOU SIR..?

My names are Dr. Andrew Foubiri Warri

1. YOU ARE ASPIRING FOR THE SEAT OF GOVERNOR, DR, MAY WE KNOW THE POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES YOU INTEND TO PURSUE?
This is an opportunity to make people know my kind of person. There are many things I want to do.
I want to start with education. In this rocket age , in this media age , if any country or state will be counted among the committee of states, then education must be in the front burner. I will start from the primary school. I intend to give free and compulsory primary education to all Deltans. To the secondary schools , I will ensure that the tuition fees are reduced to the barest minimum, then in the university, I will ensure that all teaching amenities, teaching aids, capacity building for lecturers are put in the right perspectives. I want to be able to have primary, secondary school buildings that are as good as the ones we have in Rivers state. The ones that Amechi has put on ground. However, I will focus on the capability unlike what he has done, ensure that proper teaching aids are provided, and their allowance are well paid. Where they need training, we would take them abroad. In the university, I will give our students the best and I intend to also on yearly basis pick the best 2-3 project topic papers presented, I intend to experiment, get these people together and those that are exceptional, take them abroad as the case maybe to further improve their education and come back to the state.
On health care, I will improve on participatory free health care programme across the state. Through the programme which I initiated with the NDDC called the NDDC free medical programme we have treated close to 3 million people for the past 13 years. I equally initiated the DESOPADEC free medical programme so in the area of health care, I intend to turn this state into a reference point, a medical tourism. Instead of people going to India, I want people to come to delta state and that can be done by giving all the teaching hospital the right training, right equipments, get all the basic essential drugs through revolving drug scheme, get a vibrant proper referring health system in the state.
On the area of power, I also want to improve power in the state. For you to have a state that is industrialized, you need a relatively constant power supply. I intend to partner with an internationally known groups like General electric. Bring them down to delta lets have a PPP and get power plants everywhere so that industries can grow in the state.
In the area of industrialisation, I intend to have industrial parks in the 3 senatorial district.
To get people employed, I intend to get companies from abroad. For example, Iphone is produced in China but the intellectual content is in America. We can get companies like that to come to delta state. Why should they come? we have the raw materials, we have cheap labour, we have flexible tax system. That's what they rely on. What people are looking for is a place where they can come and manufacture their goods at a price that is a little bit cheaper.
The next thing I am going to focus on is security. The principle of amnesty is what I am going to do. The boys are still kidnapping because these boys having finished school do not have a means of employment so they have to survive. If you give people an employment, you give them a sense of belonging. These people will not go and begin to misbehave. If a man says he is a militant, you give him a job, the man marries and has a house then he will drop his gun and protect his family. I intend to get all the youths together, run an all inclusive government.
On Agriculture, I intend to get every LG to gather all the farmers wherever it is , then have a cooperative then we will have government supervisors who would monitor it. All the farmers at the end government will buy all their products. We have central government stores in the senatorial district so that people can come and buy their products. What we will simply do under this arrangement is that you get all the farmers, get land for them in a PPP so they produce, while government gives them fertilisers and other amenities to enable them go into full production. When they produce, government buys them off while everybody comes there to buy at a subsidised rate. With this you will have encouraged the local farmers and you encouraged the buyers as well.

2.YOU ARE FROM DELTA SOUTH, THE SAME SENATORIAL DISTRICT WITH THE INCUMBENT GOVERNOR, DR. EMMANUEL UDUAGHAN WHO WILL BE FINISHING HIS TENURE BY MAY 29th 2015, THERE IS THIS CALL BY THE ANIOMAS THAT POWER SHOULD BE GIVEN TO THEM, WHILE THE DELTA CENTRAL TOO ARE AGITATING FOR POWER CITING EXAMPLE THAT THE ANIOMAS PARTICIPATED DURING THE LAST PRIMARIES AND THEY LOST…......DR. HOW WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO WOE THE PARTY’S DELEGATES TO YOUR CAMP SINCE THE GOVERNOR IS FROM THE SAME ZONE WITH YOU?
First of all, I want to categorically state unless it is written somewhere that nobody knows that there is no zoning system in the PDP so that if a group of people are agitating, its okay but let it be known clearly that there is no zoning formula. While it is a right for anybody wherever you are from to vie for the office of the governor, I am in support of the agitation just like I am in support of the agitation from the north, south and central. Anybody can be but to base it on zoning is not acceptable. Like you said, in all the other elections the north were involved in those elections and they lost out so if zoning is what they asked for, then they should have stepped down and allowed the present governor to be without any hitch but that's by the way. For me, everybody should have a shot. Let me take you to an area that is left out. The lopsided political appointments when it comes to Delta state. First of all, while it is agreed that the governor is from the south senatorial district, the deputy is from central right? the minister of finance and the coordinating minister of the economy is from delta north, the governor of central bank is from delta north, Dr. Cairo Ojougbo is from delta north, the MD of FEMA is from delta north, Peter Idabor is from delta north, the permanent representative to the UN from Nigeria is from delta north, Ngozi Olejeme is from delta north, Prefessor Sylvester Monye is from delta north. All of them are well deserved appointments. If you look at it, almost 15 -20 delta Northerners have appointment in this government. Then we are talking about equity. I think the delta south, the Ijaw man should be considered too. I say this because the only appointment before now in this government that an Ijaw man occupied is the minister of Niger Delta and it has gone to the central. NIMASA seems to be the only position that the Ijaw man occupies now. The president, the whole of the country is his constituencies so don’t tell me that because he is an Ijaw man therefore an Ijaw man can never be any thing. It is not right! Ijaw man had never been governor of delta state, Ijaw man had never been deputy neither SSG since the creation of this state. It is true that delta north too has not had governor but they've had two deputies, SSG but the Ijaw man has never had any. Whilst we want to divide these appointments in terms of senatorial district, I dare say that let it be based on tribe as well. Where is the position of the Ijaw man? Let us be sincere to ourselves. But like I said earlier, anybody can be a governor of the state. Just because you brought out the issue of zoning that some people are clamoring that's why I am bringing all these facts before you.
The final note is that anybody can be but if we are talking about zoning or equity, I think that they should allow the Ijaw man to be governor of this state.

WHY DO YOU CHOOSE TO RUN UNDER PDP..?
I choose to run under PDP because when I looked around, I have not been able to come to a conclusion as to have a credible alternative. Initially when APC came out, I thought APC could possibly be a credible opposition but I found out that at the end of the day, they simply come out to oppose every policies of the government whether they are good or not. so I knew that APC would not survive the trials of the time so the best party to fall back to is the PDP. Besides, PDP tends to have a national reach. APC is a regional party. I don't want to be part of a regionalized party. I want to be part of a national party.

THERE IS THIS RUMOUR GOING ON FOR QUITE SOME TIME NOW, AS MUCH AS WE TRY TO WAVE IT OFF, IT KEEPS RE-ECHOEING. THE RUMOR HAS IT THAT YOU ARE BEING SPONSORED BY AN ASPIRANT TO DISTABILIZE A PARTICULAR ASPIRANT FROM SOUTH…DR, HOW TRUE IS IT SIR?. ..
That’s interesting because in politics, rumours, perceptions are part of the game. You see my anger is that some body will belittle me to the point where they think I cannot afford to run my campaign? Until a fellow contestant sponsors me that is when I can come out for election? I want to tell those people that they are not better that me; they're not schooled than me. I see it as an insult. I don't have any thing to do with any of them but let me tell you, this is just a form of distraction from my detractors and they will fail as usual.

COULD YOU GIVE DELTANS A WORD OF ADVICE...?
My advice to deltans is that the time has come for change. Let us think and think afresh. We should not allow the stereotype of the past. Governance is not an exclusive preserve for some few persons. Governance is for everybody. I want a change of baton. Let us embrace a change that would morally question the stereotypes of the past. Let there be a change that is far reaching enough to involve the youths of this state. I am asking all the youths in delta. Don't allow anybody to use them as political thugs. I am the link between the youths and the elders. The time has come for a change; the change that would confront the stereotype of the past. I dare say that delta youths, market women come- out and effect these change. Vote for a candidate not because of how much they throw at you. Most of the money they throw at you is the money that has been stolen from our common wealth. Elect somebody that has credible antecedents, somebody that has touched the lives of people not necessarily somebody because he has been in office before. That is not a qualification. My advice to everybody in delta is to shun violence in this election. Let us disagree and be agreeable. Let us shun politics of acrimony. Let us shun politics of bitterness. Let us work together as a team after all we are all deltan. If somebody dies in delta north, a fellow deltan is dead...if somebody dies in delta south, a fellow deltan is dead and if somebody dies in delta central, a fellow deltan is dead so we are intractably tied as a people.
Thank you!