• info@ijawnation.org
  • Ekise No. 2 Quarters, Patani, Delta State, Nigeria.
 Monarch tasks Delta govt on oil pollution

Monarch tasks Delta govt on oil pollution

VANGUARD NEWS

CHAIRMAN of the Traditional Rulers Council of the Ijaw ethnic nationality, HRM. Capt. Joseph Timiyan, Torububou I, the Obenanaowei of Ogulagha, has urged the Delta State Government to address the issue of pollution by the multinational oil companies in oil-producing communities.

The Monarch who stated this when he played host to the Special Adviser to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa on Rural and Community Development, Rt Hon Emmanuel Okoro and his team in his palace, said pollution from oil spills and destruction of illegal refineries has made life unbearable for the indigenous population, especially in eking out a living.

He stressed the need for efforts to be made to reach out to the management of oil multinational companies and security operatives in the area in order to find cleaner ways to dispose of seized illegal refineries instead of blowing them up.

He also called for equitable distribution of developmental projects across the state. Earlier in his remarks, Mr Emmanuel Okoro restated the determination of the State Government to carry the people at the grassroots level along with in the governance of the State.

Okoro said the visit to the Ijaw ethnic nationality was in line with the smart agenda and prosperity for all Deltans vision of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s administration.

Saying the mandated of his team was to reassure the people of the prevalence of good governance in every nook and cranny of the state, he said; “in executing that task, my team is to specifically identify the broad development agenda of the Ijaw ethnic nationality and also to advice the governor in that regard.

“The visit is also to improve Community participation in government policies and programmes, to promote active and representative participation to ensure community members meaningfully contribute to decision making and also to involve grassroots population through consultation.

“The benefits of this meeting is to take good governance to the grassroots and addressing the needs of the communities in terms of infrastructure and economic empowerments and also by building a stronger Delta, for the socio-economic, political, environmental and cultural sustainability of the present and future generations of Deltans in this last tenure of this administration.”

The President of the Ijaw National Congress, Prof Benjamin Okaba, commended the State Government feedback mechanism, saying;  “feedback is a critical tool for ensuring that governance flows from top to bottom.

Okaba said despite being the fourth largest ethnic group in Nigeria and the second largest in the state, the Ijaw nation has been largely marginalized in terms of human and capital development.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *