By Godwin-Maria Utuedoye
Without mincing words or being exaggerative, Delta is one of Nigeria’s most fortunate states.A state so rich in oil and other mineral resources, endowed with human talent, and receives substantial public resources monthly from the Federation Account including huge Internally Generated Revenue IGR , yet the story told by its recent political history is one of wasted opportunity. What the state has are leaders that treat public office as personal property, with allies who benefited from state contracts and debts, while citizens are left to carry the burden of decisions made far above them.
The latest reminder came from a British court, which dismissed former Governor James Ibori’s attempt to reduce a £101.5 million asset confiscation order arising from his corruption convictions in the UK. That figure alone is difficult to comprehend. It represents money connected to the plunder of a state that needed roads, schools, hospitals, jobs, and clean water. 
For many Deltans, the court’s decision confirms an old suspicion that Delta’s wealth did not simply disappear, but taken, shared, and hidden by those entrusted to protect it.
Ibori’s case is not merely a personal scandal. It is a symbol of a political culture in which power became a route to accumulation of stolen public funds. For instance, during his years in office, Delta State resources flowed through the hands of a small political class, but years later, the consequences remain visible in the gap between the state’s enormous earnings and the modest quality of life enjoyed by many of its people.
The same pattern appears in more recent allegations surrounding former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has investigated claims connected to the alleged misappropriation of a whooping N1.3 trillion in derivation funds. Okowa’s supporters insist that he has done nothing wrong and that no court has convicted him. That distinction alone matters but the sheer scale of the allegations raises an unavoidable question of how did a state so rich in public money become so dependent on debt, promises, and political patronage?
No doubt, public funds may have been used to feed political ambition rather than public need. It was however allege then that money was directed toward Okowa’s vice-presidential bid and the presidential campaign of Atiku Abubakar in 2023. Even though the proof remain pending, the accusation captures a wider fear among citizens that elected governors sees the treasury not as a trust for the people, but as fuel for their own rise to national power.
The Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s administration is presently heading the same way as it recently announced that it had cleared about N400 billion of the state’s legacy debts, reducing the outstanding figure from N463 billion to N63 billion. This is very laughable as on the surface, it sounds like fiscal discipline and prudent financial management, but the question should be what projects justify such an enormous debt in the first place?
If billions were borrowed or owed for development, the people should be able to see the development. Where roads are poor, hospitals are weak and lacking, many schools in sorry state with pupils still sitting and learn on ordinary floors, and underfunded, unemployment high, debt repayment becomes a bitter reminder of money that may have passed through the system without producing any tangible value. This is no doubt, a “round-tripping”. These are public money moving through contracts, associates, and political networks, only to return later as a debt the state must repay.
With what is happening presently, it will be perfect to say that the movement of Governor Oborevwori and Delta’s political leaders from the PDP to the APC does not in any case reflect a principled change of conviction on the APC’s political ideology, but just an attempt to find shelter under federal power. It is on note that in Nigeria, once a politician joins the ruling party, old sins (corruption) will be quietly forgotten and forgiven. Whether or not it is accepted, but the perception damages public trust. Citizens are left wondering whether accountability depends on evidence and law, or on political alignment.
Perhaps the most disturbing feature is the role of the political crowd. Former leaders are still celebrated, hailed, and protected by beneficiaries of the corrupt system. Little wonder Governor Oborevwori made a reckless statement recently when he described the ticket of the daughter of a former governor as something not merited but a compensation because her father was a former governor. Only contractors, aides, party loyalists, and praise-singers enjoy access and privileges while ordinary citizens are asked to endure the consequences or be quite before your mouth is shut.
Relatives of those in government are acquiring wealth, properties including luxury cars, houses even outside the shores of Nigeria, yet claiming to be prudent. As we all know, corruption rarely survives alone; it is sustained by those who profit from it and by those who remain silent. It is therefore a challenges to Deltans to stop selling their votes for temporary gifts of N5k or N15k, food, or a plate of ukodo but begin to judge leaders by records, projects, transparency, and results. Elections should not be a ritual through which the same political class recycles themselves. There should be a moment of judgment.
Delta State does not lack resources just as Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, has declared publicly. What Delta State is lacking is leadership that treats public money as sacred and public office as service. Until leaders are held accountable, until debts are explained by visible development, and until voters refuse to be bought, the state will continue to produce wealth for a few and hardship for many.
The choice before Deltans and Nigerians is therefore clear, continue applauding those who feast on your wealth while you and the state suffers, or use the ballot wisely to demand a new era of accountable, visionary, and people-centred leadership.