By Sunday Apah
On August 27, 1991, Delta State was carved out of the old Bendel State by the military administration of General Ibrahim Babangida.
Thirty-five years later, on this same date in 2026, the “Big Heart” of Nigeria stands as a testament to resilience, unity, and progressive leadership.
From a fledgling entity with 12 local government areas to a vibrant state of 25 LGAs, with Asaba as its thriving capital and Warri as its commercial heartbeat, Delta has journeyed through decades of political evolution, economic challenges, and developmental strides.
Today, as Deltans mark this milestone, the spotlight shines brightly on the administration of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, who assumed office on May 29, 2023.
Under his M.O.R.E. Agenda—Meaningful Development, Opportunities for All, Realistic Reforms, and Enhanced Peace and Security—the state has witnessed an unprecedented surge in infrastructure, human capital investment, and inclusive governance.
This feature chronicles the completed and ongoing projects that define his tenure, celebrates the state’s 35-year journey, and makes a compelling case for why Oborevwori deserves a second term to consolidate these gains.
The Foundation: Understanding the M.O.R.E. Agenda
The M.O.R.E. Agenda is not mere campaign rhetoric. It emerged from extensive grassroots consultations during Oborevwori’s time as Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly and his subsequent governorship campaign. Meaningful Development prioritises projects with lasting impact—roads that connect communities, bridges that open riverine areas, and facilities that improve daily lives.
Opportunities for All seeks shared prosperity through education, skills training, job creation, and social interventions. Realistic Reforms focus on institutional strengthening, fiscal prudence, and public service efficiency.
Enhanced Peace and Security underpins everything, recognising that development thrives only in a stable environment.
Three years into implementation, the results are visible across the three senatorial districts. Independent assessments, including Delta’s ranking as the second-best governed state in the 2025 Commonwealth Institute of Advanced and Professional Studies Governance Performance Index, affirm the progress.
Internally Generated Revenue rose significantly from ₦83 billion in 2023 to ₦158 billion in 2024, while the state’s debt profile declined substantially.
The 2026 budget, tagged the “Budget of Accelerating the MORE Agenda,” allocates about 70 per cent—over ₦1.16 trillion of a total exceeding ₦1.7 trillion—to capital projects, a historic prioritisation of long-term investment.
Infrastructure Revolution: Roads, Bridges, and Connectivity
Nowhere is the transformation more evident than in infrastructure. The administration has pursued an aggressive programme of road and bridge construction, with figures consistently cited in the range of over 500 to more than 600 projects spanning roughly 1,500 kilometres of roads and about 950 kilometres of drainage.
The Ministry of Works was strategically split into Highways/Urban Roads and Rural/Riverine Roads to accelerate delivery across urban centres and remote communities.
Signature achievements include the near-completion and dualisation of the Ughelli-Asaba corridor, a critical artery linking Delta North and Central that has dramatically reduced travel times and boosted commerce.
The Trans-Warri–Ode-Itsekiri project, dormant for nearly two decades since its original award around 2006, was revived and completed as a 20.95-kilometre corridor featuring 15 bridges of varying spans.
It now connects about 10 communities in Warri South-West, allowing residents—including traditional rulers—to access “Big Warri” by road for the first time in living memory. Economic activity in these once-isolated riverine areas has surged as farmers, traders, and fisherfolk gain easier market access.
Flyovers and interchanges are reshaping urban mobility. A major ₦78 billion contract with Julius Berger Nigeria Plc covers critical interventions in the Warri-Effurun axis: the PTI Junction Flyover, DSC Roundabout Flyover, Enerhen Junction Flyover, and associated road expansions, cloverleaf interchanges, and pedestrian bridges.
Several of these are already functional or nearing completion, easing chronic congestion in the twin cities that form the state’s economic powerhouse.
Additional flyovers at Otovwodo Junction in Ughelli (valued at around ₦39.3 billion) and Uromi Junction in Agbor (about ₦59.7 billion) address notorious accident-prone and bottleneck points, improving safety and travel efficiency toward the North and other regions.
In the riverine and rural heartlands, bridges such as the Beneku Bridge linking Ndokwa East and West, the progressing Orere Bridge (over 82 per cent complete at earlier reports, with a 500-metre span across the Orere River plus access roads), and the ongoing Ayakoromo Bridge (connecting communities in Burutu to Ughelli South) are opening previously water-dependent areas.
Completed or advanced roads include the Ohoror-Bomadi Road (around 31 kilometres), Emevor-Orogun Road (Phase I completed and inaugurated, Phase II advancing), Okpanam-Ibusa Bypass in the capital territory, Upper and Lower Erejuwa roads in Warri, Obi-Ibabu/Ibabu Road, Utagba-Uno/Ndemili Road segments, and numerous internal roads in Asaba, Ughelli, Sapele, Agbor, and local government headquarters.
Flood-control and drainage works, including phases of the Airport Road and related projects in Asaba and Warri, protect homes and businesses from perennial flooding.
These are not isolated vanity projects. Each kilometre of road and every bridge shortens travel times, lowers transport costs for agricultural produce and goods, stimulates local markets, and integrates once-marginalised communities into the state’s economic mainstream. Residents in places like Emevor, Ijaghala, Kantu, Orere, and Ndokwa communities speak of transformed daily lives—farmers reaching markets faster, children attending school more reliably, and traders expanding their reach.
Human Capital: Education and Skills for the Future
Meaningful Development extends beyond asphalt and concrete to people. In education, the administration has renovated and upgraded hundreds of public primary and secondary schools—classroom blocks, roofing, furniture, laboratories, ICT centres, and perimeter fencing—benefiting over 400 schools in recent reporting periods.
Thousands of teaching and non-teaching staff have been recruited to address shortages and improve instructional quality. Bursaries exceeding ₦1 billion have supported over 60,000 tertiary students of Delta origin across multiple academic sessions, including those in Nigerian Law School and previously excluded institutions.
Technical and vocational education has received particular emphasis. Model Technical Colleges, such as those in Omadino (Warri South) and Oghareki (Ethiope West), alongside institutions like Irri Technical College, equip youths with practical skills for employment and entrepreneurship.
At the tertiary level, Southern Delta University (Ozoro) has seen campus expansion at Orerokpe, new faculty buildings, lecture theatres, and a Faculty/College of Health Sciences.
Governing councils have been constituted for the University of Delta (Agbor), Dennis Osadebay University (Asaba), and Southern Delta University to strengthen governance.
The three newer state universities have produced their first graduation cycles, adding skilled graduates to the workforce. Salary reviews of 25–35 per cent for tertiary staff and sustained funding of polytechnics, colleges of education, nursing and midwifery institutions, and the School of Marine Technology, Burutu, underscore the commitment to quality higher education.
These investments yield dividends: higher enrolment, reduced academic migration, improved learning environments, and a pipeline of skilled manpower ready for Delta’s diversifying economy.
Healthcare That Reaches the People
Health is another pillar of transformation. Over 150 primary healthcare centres have undergone renovation, reconstruction, or upgrade across all 25 local government areas, with modern equipment—CT scanners, MRI machines, dialysis units, incubators, and 25 state-of-the-art 4D ultrasound scanners—distributed statewide. General hospitals and tertiary facilities, including Delta State University Teaching Hospital (DELSUTH) in Oghara and Asaba Specialist Hospital, have received facility upgrades and specialised equipment, enabling advanced services such as sustained low-efficiency dialysis and hemodiafiltration.
The College of Health Technology in Ovrode (Isoko North), complete with an access road, stands as a landmark institution for training health personnel, alongside existing facilities in Ofuoma-Ughelli and the College of Health Sciences at Southern Delta University. Hundreds of healthcare workers, including house officers, have been recruited.
The Delta State Contributory Health Insurance Scheme has expanded dramatically, with enrolment figures climbing into the millions and equity injections supporting participating hospitals. Free medical care for expectant mothers and children under five continues, while awards such as recognition from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for primary healthcare underscore the quality of interventions.
These efforts reduce the burden of medical tourism, improve outcomes for ordinary families, and build a healthier, more productive population.
Economic Opportunities, Welfare, and Security
Opportunities for All manifest in social investment programmes reaching hundreds of thousands of direct beneficiaries (with broader indirect impact), market infrastructure such as the completed Ozoro Modern Market ready for commissioning, and efforts to improve power supply through transmission line rehabilitation and substation revival in areas like Emevor-Ozoro.
Zenith Bank’s expansion of branches, including in Osubi, signals growing investor confidence. Civil service welfare has improved through the construction and inauguration of 12 four-bedroom duplexes for permanent secretaries (plus earlier units for commissioners), accompanying internal roads and drainage that remediated flooding and erosion, and the presentation of official vehicles. Salary adjustments, prompt payment of salaries and pensions, clearance of arrears, a planned 13th-month salary with legal backing, and recruitment ensuring representation across local governments demonstrate Realistic Reforms in public administration.
Enhanced Peace and Security includes the restructuring of Operation Delta Sweep, plans for divisional police infrastructure, and broader initiatives that create an enabling environment for investment and daily life. Fiscal prudence—higher IGR, lower debt—provides the foundation for sustained delivery without abandoning projects.
Celebrating 35 Years and Looking Ahead
As Governor Oborevwori congratulated Deltans on the 35th anniversary, he paid tribute to past leaders, traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil servants, the private sector, and the people whose collective efforts built the state.
He affirmed that Delta has entered a new era of sustainable growth and that the shining years lie ahead. Speaker Emomotimi Guwor similarly highlighted peace, unity, and human capital as the state’s greatest assets, noting the spread of over 500 projects across the senatorial districts under the MORE Agenda.
The scale of completed and ongoing works—roads and bridges in every zone, schools and health facilities upgraded, technical colleges and university campuses expanded, civil servants better housed and equipped—demonstrates balanced, people-oriented governance.
Challenges remain, as in any large state with diverse terrains and needs, yet the trajectory is clear: development is reaching upland and riverine communities alike, urban congestion is being tackled, and human capital is being prioritised.
For a second term, the logic is straightforward. Continuity will allow the completion of major flyovers, bridges, and road networks; the full operationalisation of new educational and health institutions; the deepening of economic diversification and social programmes; and the further strengthening of security and institutions.
Abandoning or disrupting this momentum risks unfinished projects and lost gains. Deltans who have seen concrete results—shorter travel times, better schools, improved health access, functional markets, and tangible welfare improvements—have every reason to renew the mandate in 2027 so that the MORE Agenda can deliver its full promise.
On this 35th anniversary, Delta State stands stronger, more connected, and more hopeful. Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s leadership has translated vision into visible transformation.
Sustaining that leadership offers the surest path to consolidating the gains of the past three years and building the greater possibilities he has promised for the decades ahead. The Big Heart beats with renewed vigour—ready for more.
Olorogun Sunday Apah
Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Delta State on Media
