…And The Lessons Worth Learning
~By Aghogho Abraham Orotomah
While many states in Nigeria, including the federal government, continue to borrow frantically to execute projects, Delta Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, appears to be walking the opposite path: a path where an almost magical infrastructure drive is being so powerfully executed with zero borrowing by the state government.
Governor Oborevwori was known in his former world as a legislator and speaker: approving billions that the state would borrow and, someday, struggle to repay. Fast forward to today, and the same man is now in Government House, Asaba, as governor, but with a radically different mode of governance. The man whom Deltans once knew and mocked as a notorious loan approver has refused to borrow even a kobo for three years, and counting. And yet, Delta State is undergoing transformation before our very eyes.
When Sheriff Oborevwori assumed office on 29 May 2023, he inherited a state carrying the burden of loans approved under previous administrations, including the one in which he served as Speaker of the House of Assembly. Rather than add to that burden, he made a quiet but resolute decision: govern within his existing means, a decision that has earned him many accolades from Deltans. The State Commissioner for Finance, Chief Fidelis Tilije, declared categorically that the state had not entered into any borrowing relationship whatsoever, whether with individuals, corporate bodies, banks, local institutions, or international organisations, since the administration took effect. This was not mere political talk. The state government had not borrowed a dime, yet it has paid over ₦240 billion within its first 20 months in office to service and defray existing contractual obligations and loans inherited from past administrations, according to Charles Aniagwu, the state commissioner for works and information. That level of fiscal responsibility is rare in Delta State and Nigerian politics at large, and rarer still when paired with visible development on the ground.
The roads tell the story most clearly. According to available data, over 513 road projects spanning nearly 1,500 kilometres have been completed or are ongoing, while the government is planning on going ahead with the reconstruction of more roads, and landmark flyovers such as the PTI Junction, Enerhen Junction, and DSC Roundabout Flyovers have reshaped the state’s urban landscape. But Governor Oborevwori did not stop there. Recognising that connectivity must reach every corner of the state, not just the famous corridors, his administration flagged off two other mega flyovers. It delivered assurances of timely road completion in Isoko, while also rolling out transformative projects across the state. This truly shows that the Governor understands that development must have a human face, that a flyover in Asaba means little to the farmer in Isoko, Ododegho in Ughelli, Ndokwa and the rest of the state, if his or her access road remains impassable.
The scale of infrastructure commitment under Sheriff’s MORE Agenda reached new heights with a sweeping ₦230 billion project approval that stunned many observers. Among the major approvals was the design and construction of a flyover at Uromi Junction in Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area, for ₦59.7 billion, and another flyover at Otovwodo Junction along the Ughelli/Patani East-West Highway, costing ₦39.3 billion. The Agbor flyover is particularly significant. The new design includes two roundabouts and a 30-metre span beam significantly longer than beams used in similar projects, and due to the specialised nature of the equipment required, Julius Berger currently imports materials from Germany to execute the project, as stated by the state government. This is not the kind of infrastructure you build on improvisation. The construction of the Ughelli and Agbor flyovers is nearing completion stages without borrowing a single kobo.
Healthcare, often the forgotten frontier of governance, has received equally bold attention. The Delta State Executive Council approved the procurement and installation of MRI machines for Asaba Specialist Hospital, Central Hospital, Warri, and Delta State University Teaching Hospital in Oghara, bringing diagnostic technology that many Deltans previously had to travel out of state to access. With Delta boasting three tertiary hospitals, over 50 general hospitals, and over 400 primary healthcare centres, many of which are currently under rehabilitation, the reforms are expected to significantly expand healthcare access across all communities in the state. In Ughelli North, the governor’s wife personally commissioned the Tobore Oborevwori Cottage Hospital, a fully equipped medical facility designed to provide efficient, affordable, and reliable healthcare to the growing local population,
constructed by the Chairman of Ughelli North Local Government Council, Olorogun Jaro Egbo. When a government names a hospital after the First Lady and backs it with real equipment, that is more than politics; it is a statement of purpose.
National recognitions have followed naturally for Governor Sheriff. THISDAY Newspaper and Arise Television awarded Governor Oborevwori “Governor of the Year 2024” for his fiscal discipline and infrastructural development, with the founder of the ARISE Media Group noting that the governor was underrated but, in his 18 months in power, had not borrowed a cent from any bank while continuing to build infrastructure across the state. New Telegraph Newspaper also honoured him as Governor of the Year for Infrastructure, with his deputy, Sir Monday Onyeme, declaring that the administration had completed inherited and newly initiated projects without borrowing a dime. These are not partisan accolades; they are acknowledgements from the media establishment that something different is happening in Delta State for the very first time.
What makes Sheriff Oborevwori’s story so compelling is not just the projects but the personal arc. When he was Speaker, he earned praise even from former President Goodluck Jonathan for returning over ₦500 million in unutilised funds to the state treasury, a habit of fiscal prudence that he carried with him into the Delta State Government House. The man who once approved N150 billion in loans for someone else to spend has now shown that you can build flyovers in Uvwie, Agbor and Ughelli, equip hospitals in Asaba and Warri, tar roads from Isoko to Oshimili, construct roads across the state and still keep the state’s finances clean, without asking the future governments of the state to pay for the present. Governor Sheriff Oborevwori himself, speaking at the 2026 Delta State Thanksgiving and Praise Day, recounted how he managed the affairs of Delta State for three years without borrowing a kobo, attributing the feat to prudent management of resources and the grace of God. For a state long accustomed to the cycle of borrowing and high debts, that testimony is nothing short of revolutionary.
Deltans must continue to trust and support Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s MORE Agenda.
Aghogho Abraham Orotomah writes from Ughelli, Delta State.
[email protected]