DESOPADEC: Remarkable Interventions in Energy, Water, Housing, Social and Community Development

The remarkable interventions of the Askia Ogieh-led board DESOPADEC are visible in the various benefiting communities and have shown commitment to delivering needed development within available resources across the ethnic nationalities in the state.

Energy:
As was stated by Shubham Chaudhary, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, “the lack of reliable power has stifled economic activity, private investment and job creation which is ultimately what is needed to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.”

This deficiency calls for massive generation, distribution and supply of electric power across communities in order to boost their economic activities, improve their social life and shore up the nation’s economy.

In realisation of the need to key into the overall agenda of steady power supply to Deltans and the Nigerian economy in general, the Askia Ogieh-led DESOPADEC board in the period under review has indeed brought a huge glow of hope to its mandate communities in the energy sector.

Within the three years of assuming office, the board has approved and delivered on the installation of several power transformers, high-powered generating sets, solar-powered electrification systems and the extension of electricity cable lines to many communities.

These include the supply and installation of a new 2.5kva step-down Transformer at Kokori in Ethiope East LGA; supply and installation of three 500kva transformers at Orogun Agulabhi Street, Okubioku, Okpe Street extension and Erokure communities.

At Erokure DESOPADEC also extended electricity lines to connect the newly installed transformer. As one of the leaders, Chief Ogaga Oghoghorie noted, it was the first time electricity lines and transformers were getting to the community and they were extremely grateful to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Okakuro Kent Akigho Okiemute, the Urhobo representative and the entire Board of DESOPADEC for their magnanimity

The intervention in the energy sector also includes the extension/rehabilitation of electrification projects at Ode-Itsekiri (Big Warri) in Warri South LGA, the traditional headquarters of the ancient Itsekiri. The 500kva generating plant provided replaced the old generator that was no longer functioning effectively.

There is also the supply of a 500kva generator at Oporoza in Warri South West L.G.A. According to the Executive Director, Projects, Hon. Barr. Daniel Mayuku, the installation of the 500kva generating plant arose from the need to have a regular electricity supply in the community.
Speaking in the same vein, Hon. Griftson Omatsuli, Member Representing the Itsekiri Nation enthused that the process has elicited palpable happiness among indigenes of the community, adding that the provision of the generator was in line with the interventionist ideals of DESOPADEC.

Similarly, the electrification project at Ogume and adjoining communities in Ndokwa West LGA has become a reality, thanks to the full commitment of the board to drive it to a conclusion.

All these efforts were deliberately planned and executed to significantly raise the bar in the energy sector of its mandate areas. The response by the benefiting communities has been nothing short of full and unreserved appreciation to a people-friendly and demand-driven board.

Water:
Water is considered the most essential element for the maintenance and sustenance of all beings. The provision of a reliable source of safe, drinkable and adequate water supply is thus a vital prerequisite for the establishment of stable communities.

For the oil-producing communities of Delta State which is predominantly riverine, lack of access to safe water had meant a resort to impure alternatives such as rainwater, crude oil-polluted salt rivers and water hyacinth-infested streams for their daily water needs.

Guaranteed access to potable water is therefore one of the most critical needs of the people. When juxtaposed with the abundance of petroleum resource in the underbelly of the mandate areas which powers the entire Nigerian federation, the story needed to be changed and the situation is being frontally addressed through the Commission’s deep understanding of the dynamics and exigencies of intervention.

Accordingly and for long, the people of Obodo in Warri South LGA; Ebedei Uno in Ukwuani LGA; Uba Egbelemeji-Koko in Warri North LGA; Uruto Quarters in Isoko North LGA; Oliogo Umuseti in Ndokwa West LGA; Okuovo District in Okpe LGA; Emede in Isoko South LGA and many more benefiting communities will certainly remember the effort of DESOPADEC in bringing succour to them in the water sector.

Housing:
Undoubtedly, at the pinnacle of the intervention of the board under focus is the bold initiative of addressing, for once, the challenge of office accommodation that has confronted the majority of the Commission’s staff since its establishment in 2007. This resulted in the realisation of the Ultra Modern SEN. OKOWA TOWER, a five-floor, all-purpose office facility and legacy project. It is part of the broader corporate head office development programme that has seen the upgrade of the head office, including the supply of a 750kva generator to power the facility, interlocking of the posterior section of Complex “B” within the premises and many other upgrade initiatives.

The tenacity of purpose and commitment of the board to leave a lasting legacy in a most pressing area is one that will not only motivate the staff but certainly endear them to the Commission for a long time.

Social and Community Development
The social and community development sector is one of the most strategic areas in which the Commission has recorded remarkable impact in touching the lives of both its internal and external publics through massive projects.

The construction of social and cultural monument projects by the current board of the Commission is consonant with its corporate policy and strictly guided by the needs assessment of the respective benefitting communities.

Today, the Commission has practically intervened, alongside many other sectors, in delivering well-designed, fully furnished, breathtaking, state-of-the-art and aesthetically appealing civic centres that meet cultural exigencies and stoke intrinsic pride in various communities across its mandate areas.

Some of the interventions ranging from outright construction to renovation include the unifying cultural edifice popularly known as “Opute Hall” at Ozoro in Isoko North LGA; the sprawling Bashorun Askia Civic Centre at Uzere, Isoko South LGA; Obodo Town Hall, Warri South LGA; National Town Hall, Ogume, Ndokwa West LGA; Sokebolou Civic Centre, Burutu LGA; the newly constructed and fully furnished Ultra Modern Osubi Civic Centre at Okpe LGA; the Ultra Modern Market with lock-up shops and expansive parking lot at Uzere, Isoko South L.G.A, amongst others.

The projects attest to the ever-proactive and responsive approach of the current board in fostering business, interaction and bonding among the people.