Delta State, one of Nigeria’s wealthiest oil-producing states, received a jaw-dropping ₦933.97 billion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) between May 2023 and December 2024. That’s almost as much as what the entire five southeastern states—Imo, Anambra, Enugu, Abia, and Ebonyi—received combined (₦1.28 trillion) in the same period.
But despite this massive financial inflow, Delta remains a paradox: a state flowing with oil wealth, yet plagued with potholes, poor healthcare, failing schools, collapsing infrastructure, and suffocating poverty. From the creeks of Burutu to the streets of Warri, the decay is visible. Public hospitals lack basic supplies. Roads, even in oil-producing areas, are death traps. Youth unemployment continues to soar.
How does a state blessed with such fortune look so unfortunate? It gets worse. Under past administrations, the story wasn’t any better. Between 2015 and 2023, under Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Delta State reportedly received over ₦1.4 trillion from FAAC and internally generated revenues—yet the people still ask what was done with all that money. Before him, under Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, billions also poured in. But what have Deltans really gotten in return?
The worst part is not just the monumental mismanagement—it’s the deafening silence of the people. Where is the outrage? Where is the civil society? Where are the town hall meetings demanding answers? Where are the students, the activists, the market women, the elders, the clergy, the youth?
The docility and silence of Deltans in the face of this brazen underdevelopment is heartbreaking. Too many have accepted suffering as normal. Too many sing the praises of the very leaders who have failed them. Too many have become numb to the scandal of squandered opportunity.
Delta is bleeding—not because it lacks resources, but because its people have stopped asking questions. They’ve allowed political theatrics to replace accountability. Until Deltans rise to demand answers and hold their leaders to higher standards, the cycle of stagnation will continue.
Let it be known: oil money does not build roads. Budgets don’t build schools. What builds a state is bold leadership and an alert citizenry.
Deltans must wake up, or remain in the dark.
