By Charles Okogene
He came to the consciousness of Deltans in 2015 and became a regular face and voice on DSTV and the radio arm when Sen. (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa, on assumption of office, appointed him as Delta State Commissioner for Information. That was his stepping stone to grace!
Ukah on his part, immediately hit the ground running by endearing himself to Deltans and members of the fourth Estate of Realm in the state. First, he conscientiously began to reposition parastalals like Delta State Broadcasting Station, DBSTV/Radio and the state owned newspaper, The Pointer, which was under his ministry. He did not only dream big dreams, he also actualized them in record time. He reinvigorated the weekly Exco briefing of the state, redesigned and repackaged the state government newsletter and even invited external writers to contribute in order to make the publication more vibrant. In no less a time, Ukah warmed himself more into the hearts of Okowa, his colleagues in the executive arm of government, the citizenry and members of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. He also found a place at the grassroots; so it was not surprising to this writer and his teeming admirers when the monarch of Okpanam conferred on him, the Akatakpo Enyi1 of Okpanam kingdom.
He was so good on the job that even when he was assigned a new portfolio after the expiration of Okowa’s first tenure, a section of the media in the state have not stopped using him as a benchmark in rating others that have come after him; a pointer to this is a recent beautifully written and positive report on him by an online medium, Secretreporters.
“Most of us miss Ukah. When he was Commissioner for Information …. he took care of all of us,” the news platform quoted a veteran journalist as saying.
And when he made a comeback to the cabinet as commissioner for education (Basic and Primary), not a few Deltans also applauded his appointment, hailing him as a round peg, in a round hole.
At the ministry, he discharged this job creditability well, even in the face of COVID-19. This writer cannot forget in a hurry how he called one certain afternoon in 2020, to disclose that the officials of his ministry would be going to Adonte to inspect one of the town’s dilapidated primary schools buildings with a view to reconstructing it. Today, the school boasts of a brand new classroom block constructed within a space of three months. That is the stuff Ukah is made off. But for the fact that his boss, the governor of Delta State, is already an EKWUEME, chieftaincy wise, one would have persuaded the Obi (King) of Adonte to confer on him, the Ekwueme of Adonte. Ukah came to the ministry, which he incidentally took over from Barr. Chinedu Ebie whom he is also succeeding as the SSG, saw, achieved and acquitted himself.
It is not unlikely that the civil servants/teachers he worked with there will surely miss him, the way journalists he met in the course of his job of speaking for the government at the information ministry, are still wishing, two years after he left, that he was still the commissioner.
For obvious reasons, the hand writing was boldly on the wall that he would return a third time to the cabinet after Okowa dissolved it. He was even made the Chairman of a committee that organized the state’s praise and worship to mark the sixth anniversary of the present administration in the state. Again he achieved resounding success and set new records with that colourful and show stopping event.
Ukah may be blunt to a fault and sometimes unconventional when making his point but he surely has a heart of gold because forgiveness is second nature to him. Above all, he is deep, reflective, open to constructive debate and passionate about the views he believes in. No wonder Ms. Ijoma Uba, the General Manager of Trend FM, one of the hottest FM stations in the state capital in a Facebook tribute to him on his birthday on April 10 this year said this of him: “The way he forgave all I did and said about him, promised to support me as a GM without prompting and the way he has been doing that is quite commendable.”
On his part, Mr. Pius Mordi, a former Special Assistant to a former Commissioner for Information in the state, Mr. Chike Ogeah (Esq) said this of him on hearing about his appointment as the SSG.
“Only a distinguished technocrat, great mind and focused leader gets this. And you are these and more. Congratulations on your appointment as SSG. May God bless you with the grace to succeed.”
And in the same breath, I cannot but join Mordi and other well meaning Deltans in praying to God to give him the grace to excel. As Delta North’s good and exemplary ambassador, the people expect more qualitative and greater service to Delta State and its people.
