…Ijaw Leaders Decry Neglect, non-payment of contractors
…Petition Reaches Governor Oborevwori
By Faith Madogwe
Anger is reaching a boiling point across the oil-producing Ijaw kingdoms as the Delta Ijaw Ethnic Nationality Oil and Gas Producing Kingdoms Forum has accused the current board of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) of gross betrayal, calculated neglect, and systemic marginalization of Ijaw contractors and communities.
In a strongly worded petition to Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Francis Oborevwori, the Forum did not mince words in calling for urgent intervention, citing the commission’s refusal to pay indigenous contractors and its failure to execute meaningful development in Ijaw oil-bearing communities—despite the billions of naira said to be allocated monthly.
The letter was signed by Chief Paul Ukuli – Chairman (Gbaramatu Kingdom); Chief Engr. Samson Oyimi – Secretary (Ogbe-Ijoh/Warri Kingdom); Chief George Timiyan – Member; Dr. Friday Deinghan – Member; Chief Perefuga Karawei – P.R.O (Ogulagha Kingdom); Mr. Segun J. Ebiwei – Financial Secretary (Egbema Kingdom); Chief Boro F. Dose – Member; Mr. Gospel Keikpo Samson – Member; Chief Henry Suoware – Treasurer (Diebiri Kingdom); Chief Evans Etimagba – Asst. Secretary (Iduwini Kingdom); and Mr. Newman Ekpo – Member, Representative of Kou Kingdom.
“This is no longer negligence,” the Forum said. “It is calculated oppression. The Board has not only failed in its basic responsibility, but it is now a danger to the very communities it was created to serve.”
The document, which was jointly signed by respected community representatives, painted a dire picture of unpaid contractors drowning in debt, abandoned projects scattered across Ijaw communities, and a commission now being run by what they described as a “tight cabal” that selects who gets paid and who gets ignored.
According to them, DESOPADEC receives over N2.5 billion every month, yet indigenous contractors are left stranded while others are paid selectively. “This is an insult to our people. It defeats the very essence of DESOPADEC’s creation,” they stated.
They noted that several contractors have died under the weight of bank debts and unpaid bills, while others have lost all they have due to unfulfilled payments. “All we are asking for is fairness and accountability. Our people deserve better,” the Forum added.
They urged the governor to investigate the financial activities of the Board and direct immediate payment to indigenous contractors, warning that excuses about lack of funds are no longer acceptable.
Full statement follows below.
DESOPADEC HAS FAILED IN ITS MANDATE OVER THEIR
PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES
(CALL THEM TO ORDER)
Our attention has been drawn to the activities and programs of DESOPADEC with reference to the above subject matter.
We must first and foremost express our thanks and appreciation to your people-oriented policies and programs, more importantly to the MORE Agenda which include: Meaningful Development, Human Capital Development, Infrastructural Development, Environmental Sustainability, Opportunity for all, Realistic Reforms and finally enhanced peace and security.
You are a doing well Governor, your projects and programs under review goes across all nooks and crannies of Delta State and this is a testament of the fact that your second tenure is guaranteed.
Your Excellency Sir, we wish to draw your attention to the present Board of DESOPADEC who has failed in their duties in the payment of indigenous contractors and must be called to order. This present Board has disappointed the oil-bearing communities which they represent in the Commission and that negate the purpose for which the commission was established since 2006. It is common knowledge and a known fact that the bedrock of the law establishing DESOPADEC is to cater for the welfare and well-being of the oil-bearing kingdoms through the instrumentality of the 13% Revenue Derivation Funds from the Federal Government accruing to Delta State which 50% of it is used by the Board to develop the oil-bearing communities in the state.
Unfortunately, the Board has denied the oil-bearing communities contractors their payment and if they managed to pay, it is paltry sum and that has nothing to write home about. This singular attitude of the Board has sent many of our oil-bearing communities contractors to their untimely grave due to huge debt burden they took from financial institutions in the execution of projects and could not meet up repayment. Some projects are even left abandoned.
Your excellency, we are also aware of the monies transmitted to the Commission worth over N2.5 billion monthly and yet the Commission is coming up with one flimsy excuse or the other and we quote “Governor has not paid for two months, we are still waiting for funds” this is enough. The commission should stop deceiving the communities they represent, in no distant time we shall come up with detailed statistics of monies that has been transmitted to the commission over this obnoxious behaviour and deception.
It is also noteworthy to state further that if the commission is magnanimous enough to release at least One Billion Naira alone to pay their indigenous contractors, it will go a long way in solving and alleviating the problems of our indigenous contractors.
This incessant attitude of non-payment of contractors by DESOPADEC has discouraged many financial institutions to sponsor any DESOPADEC Project that has left many of the community projects abandoned may be the commission is not aware of the whistle-blowing policy towards good governance drive of the state. The Board operations regarding payment of contractors has become a cabal, a selective game of who they decide to pay or not to pay thereby trading with the destinies of the oil-producing communities.
We also wish to state that in a recent online publication, some persons who are not known to us, who also called themselves in the name and style of DESOPADEC Indigenous Contractors discredited our DESOPADEC Ijaw Ethnic Nationality Contractors Forum by calling the Ijaw Ethnic Nationality Contractors Forum ‘Self-Acclaimed’ Organization. This is not true. The Forum is well known to us, they are not self-acclaimed neither they are fake. We therefore want this so called Indigenous Contractors Organization to render an apology for ever-defaming a well-recognized organization.
In view of the foregoing, we demand as follows:
1. We are in complete agreement with the 6-points demands issued by the Ijaw Ethnic Nationality Contractors Forum. We attach the said letter for your ease of reference.
2. The Commission should come up with the 2024 Budget and its full implementation just as they have fully implemented the recurrent and centralized budget.
3. In the spirit of equity, fairness and justice, every payment accruing to the commission should be disbursed on the existing production quota among the ethnic nationalities in line with the law that establishes the commission.
CAVEAT
Your Excellency sir, our communities are highly agitated over this plethora of issues and other matters thereto. With great discontent, we can no longer accept this gross violation because it is against the purpose for which the commission was established. We therefore enjoin you to call DESOPADEC Board to order.
Yours sincerely,
For: Delta Stated Ijaw Ethnic Nationality Oil & Gas Producing Kingdoms Forum
