Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori has called on Nigeria’s leaders at every level to embrace inclusive governance as the most reliable and sustainable pathway to strengthening national unity, drawing on lessons from his state’s development model to argue that equitable representation and participation were not merely political ideals but practical instruments of national cohesion.
Delivering a lecture titled “Inclusive Governance and National Unity: Lessons from Delta State for a More United Nigeria” at the annual lecture series of the Yoruba Tennis Club in Lagos, Oborevwori argued that Nigeria’s extraordinary diversity demanded a governance framework that guaranteed representation, fairness, and meaningful participation for all groups, with particular attention to communities that had historically been marginalized by the structures of power and resource allocation.
He presented Delta State’s governance approach as a working template for the rest of the federation, anchored on his administration’s MORE Agenda built around Meaningful Development, Opportunities for All, Realistic Reforms, and Enhanced Peace and Security. He described the agenda not as a rhetorical framework but as a practical governance instrument that had produced measurable outcomes across the state’s three senatorial districts.
Among the concrete achievements he cited were the enrolment of over 2.7 million residents in the state’s health insurance scheme, the construction of major infrastructure projects including the Effurun to Warri flyovers and rural road networks deliberately designed to promote economic integration across ethnic boundaries, and the delivery of balanced educational investments distributed across the state’s geographic and demographic spread.
On youth empowerment, Oborevwori disclosed that over 300,000 persons had benefited from state programmes targeting skills acquisition, entrepreneurship, and employment creation, while social protection measures including the Widows Welfare Scheme and support programmes for vulnerable groups demonstrated the administration’s commitment to reaching citizens who might otherwise fall outside the reach of mainstream government interventions. He stressed that Delta State’s opportunities were extended equally to indigenes and non-indigenes, describing this openness as fundamental to genuine inclusivity.
Addressing national policy, the governor commended President Bola Tinubu for taking bold and necessary economic decisions, including the removal of the petrol subsidy and the floating of the naira, arguing that these reforms, despite their short-term pain, were essential for long-term economic recovery and for creating the fiscal headroom that had strengthened subnational capacity to execute impactful development projects.
He called for deliberate and sustained efforts to build a shared national identity through education, media, and youth-focused initiatives, urging stakeholders across the country to treat Nigeria’s cultural diversity as a unifying strength rather than a source of division.
In a specific institutional proposal, the governor recommended the establishment of a national conference held every ten years, bringing together government representatives, traditional rulers, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders to assess progress on inclusivity and chart a course for deeper national cohesion.
He concluded that national unity could not be legislated from the centre but had to be built from the grassroots through inclusive policies at state and local government levels, arguing that equitable development across Nigeria’s federating units would substantially reduce inter-communal tensions and reinforce the country’s collective identity over time.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu described the centenary celebrations of the Yoruba Tennis Club as a remarkable institutional milestone, commending Governor Oborevwori for his development efforts in Delta State and welcoming his delegation’s contributions to discussions on inclusive governance. Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, also expressed appreciation for the governor’s presence at the gathering. The Club’s chairman, Chief Olawunmi Gasper, welcomed guests with evident pride as the institution approached its centenary milestone.
