The Executive Director, Planning, Research and Statistics (ED PRS) in the Board of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), Hon. Nicholas Efele, has painfully disclosed that Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality, have more abandoned DESOPADEC projects than any other ethnic group in the state.
Hon. Efele, made the disclosure Monday August 14 in Koko, Warri North Local Government Area, of Delta State, during day-two of the town- hall meetings between stakeholders and DESOPADEC.
The ED PRS of DESOPADEC, also revealed how a certain contractor collected full payment for a jetty project that was awarded to him over 12years ago, without executing the job, warning that the current Board of DESOPADEC, will not tolerate a situation where contractors are awarded jobs and they fail to execute the projects to specification.
Whilst assuring that the Board is ready to partner communities in Warri North Local Government Area, in order to execute priority projects and stop abandonment of projects, Hon. Efele, declared: “Some of the contractors are wicked, projects that are supposed to be completed in one fiscal year, which would have brought prosperity to our communities, are being abandoned.
“Some contractors receive money for jobs and fail to execute the jobs, sadly most of them are indigenous contractors.”
Hon. Efele, said that in the course of their tour to Itsekiri communities, they discovered lots of wasteful projects, in the form of irrelevance to the communities and duplicity in some cases.
“DESOPADEC have two jetties in Usele (Warri South Local Government Area) the money used for one of the jetties, would have been used for executing another viable project.
“In some communities, they have two Health Care Centers, whereas it is difficult to activate two health centres. The money for one of the health centres, would have been channeled to other use”, he asserted.
On the economy, Hon Efele, averred that there was need for diversification, as a result of the reality of climate change.
“There are no more economic activities in our communities, any town without economic activity, is bound to be stagnant.
“We want to partner with the communities, to look at different ways we can boost the economy, especially in the area of agricultural production”, Efele, noted.
He disclosed plans by the Commission to train and retrain leaders of the communities, so as to reorientate their minds, toward better administrators of their various communities.
The Commissioner, representing Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality in the Board of DESOPADEC, Hon. Sunny Ofe, who spoke earlier, said that the absence of cordial relationship between the Board and Communities, led to abandonment of projects in the past.
“We are here today to build that relationship, in order to move our Ethnic Nationality forward.
“As leaders of our various communities, we must put the interests of our communities first, not our individual interest”, Ofe added.
A former member of Delta State House of Assembly, Hon. Misan Ukubenyinje, Leader of Warri North Local Government Council, Legislative Arm, Rt. Hon. Johnbull Urunmatsoma, DESOPADEC Board members as well as Chairmen and Secretaries of various communities in Warri North Local Government Area, were among those present, during the stakeholders meeting.
Picture Credit: FA
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