Oghareki, Delta State – June 3, 2025
By Foster Akpore
Former Chief of Staff to the Deputy President of the 9th Senate and renowned development expert, Dr. Otive Igbuzor, has charged the newly inaugurated Okpurughre Progressive Network (OPN) to build high-performing teams and remain ideologically grounded in their mission to reshape the political landscape of Delta State.
Delivering the keynote address at the OPN inauguration workshop held in Oghareki on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, Dr. Igbuzor, in his presentation titled “Building a High-Performing Team: The Role of Leaders and Followers,” emphasized the urgency of mobilizing for progressive change ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to him, Delta State has suffered for too long under conservative and ineffective leadership, resulting in value erosion, underdevelopment, and a breakdown of merit-based governance.
“There is a degeneration of values. The values of respect, hard work, integrity, and self-pride are being completely eroded. Deltans, both young and old, have been turned into beggars in the name of empowerment,” he lamented.
He decried the state’s decline from a former pacesetter in Nigeria to a trailing position in developmental indices, citing the recent Niger Delta Sports Festival, where Bayelsa State emerged first—a position traditionally held by Delta.
Dr. Igbuzor, a former Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria and Founding Executive Director of the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), urged OPN members to transcend the failures of the past and embrace progressive politics rooted in inclusivity, social justice, and systemic reform.
“The OPN must ensure that remnants of the PDP who refused to join the APC do not see the light of day in 2027. The candidates who embody progressive politics in Delta State are visible to the blind and audible to the deaf,” he said.
He warned that the influx of former PDP members into the All Progressives Congress (APC) threatens to dilute the party’s progressive foundation and called for ideological clarity.
Citing the 2023 APC gubernatorial and deputy gubernatorial candidates—Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and Rt. Hon. Friday Osanebi—Dr. Igbuzor praised their progressive credentials as examples of the leadership Delta State needs.
He lauded Senator Omo-Agege for his legislative achievements, including the establishment of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, the Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Institutions Bill, and his push for electoral transparency.
He also commended Rt. Hon. Osanebi for his youth and women empowerment programs, support for SMEs, and scholarship schemes that have impacted hundreds across the state.
“Osanebi’s poverty alleviation programs, support for market women, and educational scholarships reflect the spirit of progressive leadership we need,” he added.
Highlighting the pathway to success for OPN, Dr. Igbuzor emphasized the importance of forming high-performing grassroots teams.
“What OPN must do is establish a structure that delivers votes to progressive candidates in 2027. This means building teams with complementary skills, clear goals, shared accountability, and a strong commitment to performance,” he said.
He cautioned against political opportunism, advising the network to distance itself from “political entrepreneurs” motivated by personal gain rather than public service.
In conclusion, he urged OPN members to take politics seriously, invoking the wisdom of philosophers and revolutionaries:
“Politics is too important to be left to charlatans. Plato warned that if you refuse to participate in politics, you will be ruled by your inferiors. Frantz Fanon reminded us that every onlooker is either a coward or a traitor.”
Earlier in his welcome address, Mr. Paul Okpurughre, Chairman of OPN, described the occasion as a historic beginning, aimed at reshaping politics through good governance and inclusiveness. He noted that the workshop was both a capacity-building exercise and an opportunity to foster collaboration for a more accountable political culture. He also expressed gratitude to Dr. Igbuzor for his commitment to progressive reform.
Also speaking, OPN Director General, Idi Presley Ifeanyichukwu, described the gathering as a turning point in Delta State’s political consciousness. He reiterated OPN’s commitment to community engagement, economic empowerment, and social responsibility, stating that the workshop would help clarify the roles of both leaders and followers in building a political network that works for all citizens.
The inauguration of the Okpurughre Progressive Network was attended by community leaders, political stakeholders, and grassroots mobilizers from across Delta State. Organizers hailed it as a bold step toward the revival of progressive politics in the region.
With the OPN’s structure now in place and its vision boldly declared, the journey toward a redefined political culture in Delta State has truly begun.