…Including Ekpan Mother/Child Care Centre, Effurun-Eku road project
…Calls on governor to complete projects before end of his tenure
Delta Action for Good Governance And Accountability, DAGGA, a vociferous group based in Delta State, has challenged the Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa-led administration to explain to Deltans why the Mother and Child Care Centre at the Government General Hospital, Ekpan in Uvwie Local Government Area which was about 75% completed by the last administration in the State has been abandoned till date.
The group also queried the governor on why the Effurun-Eku road dualization project which was more than 50% complete by the previous administration remains abandoned and continues to constitute a nightmare to motorists who ply the ever-busy road on a daily basis.
Rising from a quarterly meeting of the group in Effurun recently, the group in a statement signed and issued by the national coordinator, Comrade Uchakpor Blessing and national secretary, Comrade Obodowei Malachy, expressed disappointment over abandonment of the two strategic projects which the incumbent inherited from the administration of his precedessor, former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan.
The group bemoaned the non-challant attitude of the Okowa-led administration towards the plight of thousands of Deltans who are subjected to the rigours of health hazards experienced by patients who desire the services of the Mother and Child Care Centre situated opposite the Government Hospital in Ekpan, Uvwie Local Government Area, noting that the LG has one of the highest population in the State.
It drew the attention of the Governor to the speed with which he executed and commissioned the N1.5 billion Mother and Child Care Centre in his country home, Owa Alero in less than two years, while abandoning the Ekpan Mother and Child Care Centre for about seven years now.
Speaking further, the group averred that it amounts to deliberate neglect why Gov. Okowa chose to abandon the Effurun-Eku highway project which provides the only direct link for commuters who daily move from the riverine areas of the State including Warri South West, Udu, Ughelli South and Warri South LGAs, to Eku and through to Abraka, the University Community.
The group noted that no matter what reason the governor may give for the abandonment of the two strategic projects, the government is capable of surmounting such reason if he is serious and concerned about the plight of Deltans whom he assured of prosperity and good welfare during his administration.
“We are surprised why Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa will continue to keep blind eyes to the Mother and Child Care Centre, Ekpan which he inherited from his predecessor at about 70% completion in 2015 while he completed a similar project valued at N1.3 billion in his village, Owa Alero in Ika North East Local Government Area, in less than two years.
“Okowa, within two years executed and commissioned the N1.3 Mother and Child Care Centre in Owa Alero in Ika North East Local Government Area. So, what is wrong with the Ekpan Mother and Child Care Centre which was about 75% complete when he inherited it from former governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan?
“In the spirit of prosperity which the governor promised all Deltans, he should be concerned about the health of maternal mothers and children in Uvwie Local Government Area which has one of the greatest population in the State.
“The Ekpan Mother and Child Care Centre is very strategic to the government health care delivery. Okowa is a medical doctor and he should know better. What would it take him to complete that Centre when he can start a multi-billion naira Mother and Child Care Centre in his village, Owa Alero and complete and commission it within two years?
“We appeal to the governor to address the problem holding down the completion of the Ekpan Mother and Child Care Centre, if there is any, and complete the project for the benefit of Deltans”, the group said.
Also emphasizing the significance of the Effurun-Eku/Abraka road dualization project which is also one of the inherited projects from the past administration, DAGGA noted that the road is one of the busiest in the State, adding that it provides the only link between Deltans from the riverine areas of Warri South West, Udu, Ughelli South, Warri South and Uvwie amongst other Local Government Areas who ply the road daily for commerce including the daily heavy traffic by Deltans who travel along the road to and from the University Community, Abraka.
The group also reminded Gov. Okowa that the Effurun-Eku road offers the only link from the Osubi Airport to the outside world, noting that the former governor of the State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan realized this hence he undertook to dualize the road.
DAGGA appealed to Gov. Okowa who is known as Road Master to find a way to complete the dualization of the Effurun-Eku road before he exit office in 2023.
“On the Effurun-Eku road dualization which Gov. Okowa also inherited from his predecessor, we also sad that the governor could abandon a sizable number of Deltans who daily use that road to their fate.
“Our investigation shows that more than 50% of the work on that dualization has been complete including the few bridges and culverts. So, what is holding it back?
“That road is one of the busiest in the entire state considering the economic activities that take place at both ends of the road daily. It is the only route through which farm produce from Ika, Ukwuani and Ethiope East LGAs move to the cosmopolitan cities of Effurun and Warri, it also offers the link between the University Community of Abraka and Effurun/Warri especially for students who run different programmes in the institution.
“Due to the dilapidating state of the road, accidents and even activities of hoodlums who take advantage of the numerous potholes to attack commuters have become a daily occurence.
“Whatever be the obstacle to that project, we believe the Okowa-led administration is capable and has the capacity of resolving it and completing the road for Deltans to use before the governor leaves office. We are therefore appealing to the Road Master to turn his machines to the Effurun-Eku road dualization and complete it before he leaves office in 2023”, the group submitted.
It would be recalled that the Ekpan Mother and Child Care Centre project which is situated opposite the Government General Hospital, Ekpan, Uvwie Local Government Area was commenced at the same time with a similar project at the Central Hospital in Warri. The New Diplomat finding indicates that the Warri project was completed and commissioned by the administration of former Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan in 2014 while that of Ekpan hospital was nearly 75% complete as at the time he left office in 2015.
It was also gathered that for the past six and half years that Gov. Okowa took over the rein of government, there have been budget provisions for the progress of work at the hospital, but sadly, no work has been done so far.
The MCC Centre when completed will have the capacity to accommodate 100 patients at any given time. It was supposed to be one of the Millenium Development Goals, MDGs at the time it was conceived by the last administration in the state.
All efforts to get an update from the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu on the state of these abandoned projects have been unsuccessful as at the time of filing this report.
