For the fourth time in five weeks, the Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has been voted Man of the Year 2013 by a national newspaper with the Vanguard newspapers announcing the Governor winner of its award. It is yet another sterling accolade for a leader described as “patiently focused” by Vanguard’s Board of Editors in announcing its decision.

Uduaghan’s “visionary steps in governance” were extolled by the newspaper which noted that his major policy framed as Delta Beyond Oil encapsulates the three cardinal philosophy that is the hallmark of his administration – human capital development, infrastructure development and peace and security”.

The Governor’s boost to education infrastructure evidenced in the commissioning of 13 model secondary schools and 54 model primary schools as well as the N5 million per year post-graduate scholarship programme for first class graduates in any institution anywhere in the world were highlighted as some of the outstanding bright spots in Nigeria’s quest for quality education.

On health care, Vanguard noted that Uduaghan put his profession as a medical doctor to good use as he instituted the legacy policy on maternal and child care that picks and pays for a baby’s total wellbeing from conception to the age of five. This has had profound impact on infant mortality rate in the state which crashed from 545 deaths in 100,000 births at the time he took over as governor in 2007 to 241 deaths in 100,000 births in 2012 which is by far the lowest rate in the country.

Alongside the micro-credit scheme that has empowered over 100,000 people and the Delta Beyond Oil initiative, Vanguard stated that the Uduaghan administration is positioning the state “outside the perimeters of the shock from fluctuating oil revenue”.

We are glad that despite his philosophy of working quietly without recourse to media frenzy, Governor Uduaghan’s giant strides towards enthroning sustainable development in Delta State is being nationally and globally acknowledged.

Three other newspapers had earlier recognized Governor Uduaghan as their Man of the Year. They are Nigerian Pilot, Leadership and The Sun which announcement was made on December 30, 2013.