• Says He is Not Aware of Monthly N20 Million Naira Empowerment for Youths

The immediate past member representing Ndokwa nation at the Board of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Commission, (DESOPADEC), Hon (Rev.) Chukwudi O. Eke has called on the people of Ndokwa to be patient with the Government of Senator (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa as regarding the appointment of principle officers into his government, as he also calls the youths of the area who are agitating for the records of a purported monthly N20 million allocation under his care in DESOPADEC to come forward with evidence of such payments.
The former DESOPADEC board member who made the statement recently when he exclusively spoke to Ndokwa Reporters in his office in Asaba, said that the people of Ndokwa should not be too haste as in complaining about who had not gotten appointment as it is too early in the day to start passing judgement on the government of Senator Okowa.
The immediate board member of DESOPADEC, who said he took over the office as a member representing Ndokwa nation on August 11, 2011, as a member the the Interim management Committee, with a mandate area that covers the entire Ndokwa East LGA, and part of Ndokwa West, which included five wards of Kwale, Utagba Uno, Ndemili, Etua, and Onitcha Ukwuani said he met a lot of ongoing projects in the area, and also initiated some projects which mane had being completed and some yet to be completed before the board was dissolved.
According to the former Board member, at the resumption of office, he made efforts to complete the work which was started by the first board and the Interim Management Committee, which were awarded between the year 2008 and 2011, before that board was also dissolved and a new one was inaugurated, and he was a member of that board.
Speaking specifically on the accusations against his ways of administration while he held sway at the board, where many saw him as an elusive member representing the Ndokwa nation, he debunked the accusation, that despite the fact he was not promoting his achievements, he was working for the people, as evidenced by numerous projects executed and awarded during his tenure.
According to Rev Eke, under his watch, a lot of youth empowerment schemes were carried out, in the area, as 70 people were empowered with computers to start their business after training at the Skill Acquisition Centre, Ashaka. Also carried out was welding and fabrication, tailoring and some other empowerment programmes for both youths and women.
Rev. Eke while acknowledging the facts that a lot of work need to be done in the area, specifically Ndokwa east said under him, the commission also carried out intervention work in the area of transport, as the Abalagada road project was done in his time, others are the Okoye road drainage project, Aboh, construction of Umuseti Road, completed in 2011, Anthony Miligu Road, Ashaka.
He also talked on the areas of security, and housing were the commission attracted the second police division to Ashaka, building of the police post Beneku and the donation of patrol vehicles to the Vigilante group in the mandate areas.
On education, the former commissioner said that the commission constructed a modern primary school at Beneku, the renovation of the Beneku primary school. Also there was the construction of six classrooms block and staff quarters at Abalagada secondary school, an ongoing project for the construction of a model primary school at Igbuku, which had reached advanced stage.
Other areas which his administration as a member of the board touched was also in the area of health care, water projects in many of the communities, and a total of twenty seven ongoing projects in different parts of the mandate area.
Rev Eke, said that the work in DESOPADEC is based on mile stone, where by the contractor takes the job, and starts with his money and payment is “Processed based on the mileage already done by the contractor, and the speed of such jobs are determined by the speed the government releases money to pay for the mileage done for the contractor to continue with the job., and most often, there are delays in getting approvals and releasing monies to pay to contractors”. He said.
He said that many of the ongoing jobs or abandoned projects suffered from lack of funds to settle the contractors for job already done.

• Says He is Not Aware of Monthly N20 Million Naira Empowerment for Youths.

Also speaking as part of his stewardship at the DESOPADEC, Rev. Eke used the opportunity to call on the youths of Ndokwa nation to be specific in their demands, and task them to produce the names and evidences to show that the commission was paying the youths for what they called “payments for Security”, monthly as he was not aware of such payment..
According to him, the issue of N20 million naira for youths had been there since he took over, and each time the issue is raised he always advise those asking for the where about of the money to please produce payment evidence regarding such money, because according to him, “it is all rumour”.
The Rev. who also used to opportunity to call on the youths to be proactive in their demands and agitation, decried where the government spends money to train them, give them starter packs, with money to start off businesses for their families and support the government to empower others end up selling such items.
He concluded that the Ndokwa youths need to wake up and follow the part of self-actualisation, in line with what the government is providing.