The Delta State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has dismissed the latest allegations of the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC in the state over favouritism in employment into the newly established Delta Universities.
The PDP in the state described the allegations as another round of APC’s usual misinformation on the new universities.
The State PDP Publicity Secretary, Dr Ifeanyi Osuoza, in a statement while reacting to the Delta APC latest press release titled: “APC Accuses Delta Govt Of Favouritism In Employment Into State Varsities, Calls For Merit, Transparency”, signed by its Publicity Secretary (Caretaker), Sylvester Imonina, described the APC’s penchant for rushing to the media with every unfounded and misleading information, as a sign of a party desperately seeking cheap publicity always.
The Delta PDP statement reads in full below:
The attention of Delta State PDP has been drawn once again to the bunch of misinformation contained in the APC’s recent Press Statement on the employment into the newly established State universities and for the umpteenth time, we want to advise the APC publicists to always get their facts right before jumping to the media to publish their usual garbage of misleading information.
For starters, we are glad that the APC admitted honestly, in their own words, that: ‘the management of the universities put up advertorials for different vacant positions in the schools, urging qualified Deltans to apply’. This admission alone has completely nullified any intentions of favouritism which the APC alleges in the employment process, for the simple fact that all applicants must follow the laid down instructions contained in the advertorials.
In other words, the employment is open to all qualified individuals and only qualified Deltans, no matter where they are coming from, who meet the employment criteria on merit after a series of Interviews and other extant due process regulations applicable to employment into the universities laid down service structures, will be absorbed into the universities nominal role. This of course should have been crystal clear to the dumb APC publicists.
Again, we need to stress the point very clearly to the APC that those who will be employed are also bonafide Deltans, from across the 3 Senatorial Zones, 10 Federal Constituencies, and 25 Local Government Areas in the State. Do we need to remind the APC that a Deltan is a Deltan, no matter the political party that he/she belongs to?
Those who applied for different positions and who will be shortlisted and subsequently called for interviews to fill up the different positions in the universities are also Deltans, who are the wives, children, and relatives of Deltans and their destinies will be changed for good because of the foresight of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, who actualized the proactive vision of setting up the universities, which are now creating massive employment for Deltans in the three Senatorial Zones of the State.
Let us even state categorically here that since the Federal Government and the NUC granted Delta State the permission to establish the three new universities, the APC has been very unhappy at the development and successful endorsement and has done everything humanly possible; from its desperate accusations of ethnic bias to the marginalization of some other existing institutions and now this latest ranting about favouritism in employment, amongst other bitter, unfounded, misleading and acrimonious verbiage, to discredit the schools and de-market Delta State, thereby, creating the impression that granting us the authority to establish the universities was a mistake.
Is this how a progressive party, who claims to have the interest of the State and Deltans at heart should be thinking? Is this the kind of negative propaganda that APC should be posting in the public space, by attempting to whip up outdated populist sentiments with crude, unintelligent arguments in its futile attempt to drag us back into the dark ages, just as their Federal Government has dragged Nigeria back?
It is indeed shameful and quite unfortunate that in this 21st century when Nigerians are advocating for national unity and moving towards politics of equity and inclusiveness, the APC is busy de-marketing Delta State and preaching the politics of selectiveness on the basis of political party affiliation, even as it has blindly forgotten that Deltans are still the ones to benefit from any employment into the newly created universities in the State.
Of course, we are very much aware of the regime of mediocrity carried out on the platform of crass and brazen nepotism, which the APC Federal Government has foisted on Nigeria and this obviously, is exactly the administrative template which the Delta APC is desperate to introduce to Delta State and impose a selective segregation agenda on Deltans.
Indeed, the PDP will never be a party to such myopic reasoning, which is why employment into our newly established universities are broad-based, cutting across the length and breadth of Delta State and being carried out with all the recognized and acceptable regulations of due process, to ensure that appropriate skills and verified qualifications are the main criteria of merit to determine that only the best are employed at this pioneering stage of the new universities.
Our joy and satisfaction however are in the fact that the pragmatic, progressive, yes! progressive, people-oriented administration of our astute, dynamic, and strategically brilliant leader and Governor, Senator, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, the Ekwueme of the universe, will not be distracted by these diversionary, unpatriotic, anti-Deltans noises, by an insignificant entity like the APC and is in fact going forward with the solid structures of building a Stronger Delta, by ensuring that the three new Delta universities, will grow, from this well-planned foundation, to become amongst the best in the country and the world and bring pride and glory to Delta State in the near future.
