The Warri Study Group, a group committed to the development of Itsekiri lands/communities has come down hard on Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, accusing the interventionist agency of foot-dragging in recovering a total of N13 billion for contracts it purportedly awarded and paid for in 2004 as well as 2006 without" a bag of cement" dropped on the sites.
According to the group, the two contracts are Ugborodo Shoreline Protection Project in Warri South -West Local Government Area valued at N10 billion awarded in 2004 and the Koko Shoreline Protection Project in Warri North Local Government Area, awarded at the sum of N3 billion in 2006. The group stressed that no job took place in both projects, yet the monies were paid.
In a petition addressed to the Acting Managing Director of NDDC and made available to Fresh Angle International Sunday June 12,2016 via electronic mail, the Itsekiri group wondered why the NDDC was foot-dragging to “unravel the mysterious loss of these huge sums”, despite the Presidential Monitoring Committee on the NDDC in 2012 directing that action be taken in that regard.
The petition which was signed by chairman and secretary of Warri Study Group, Edward Ekpoko Esq. and Tony Ede respectively, also vowed that Itsekiri Nation will not accept the dredging of Ogheye/Ugbege/Araromi Canal in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State.
According to them, the contract which was awarded by the NDDC without Environmental Impact Assessment, EIA is capable of causing crisis.
While declaring that canalization /dredging of the communities which are held together by a fringe of land, measuring about 60 meters between the Atlantic and Benin River will wash of the coastal communities into the sea, Warri Study Group noted that what people of the affected communities and indeed the entire Itsekiri Nation desire are: “fore-shore protection /reclamation” and sand-filling to protect the three communities from Ocean encroachment before canalization.
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