With the new Delta State Urban Renewal Law getting set for Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s signature, the State is about to witness an all-round comprehensive transformation, the Delta State Commissioner for Urban Renewal, Olorogun Arthur Akpowowo has said.
Speaking to newsmen on the activities of the ministry at Eku on Sunday September 26, Akpowowo disclosed that the Urban Renewal Law which was recently passed by the Delta State House of Assembly which may be transmitted to Gov. Okowa for signature any moment from now, will position the ministry to carry out its core mandate as a transformational vehicle for the entire State.
Akpowowo stated that, although the Ministry bears the title of Urban Renewal, its core mandate includes the planning for the total transformation of every part of the State including construction of inter-city roads, environmental beautification, slum upgrade, among other duties.
“The ministry is actually very new compared to other ministries we have in the state. The ministry’s area of interest is well cut-out. But I can tell you that because of budgetary constraints and lack of funds, the ministry is not able, for now, to actualize its core mandate.
“However, upon resumption in 2019, I discovered that the ministry was majorly targeting roads and bridges. There were a lot of projects they did. For example, Sekelobowu-Ogulaha-Yukori road in the riverine area which spans 22 kilometers which was commissioned by His Excellency the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osibanjo SAN. It was carried out by the ministry. Other projects like the Oviorie-Oha road which was one of His Excellency legacy projects in 2016, was ongoing. They were more roads such as Opute, Ogbolu and others.
“When I looked at the Exco extract that created the ministry I saw urbanization, beautification and slum upgrade, I tried to make the scope of the ministry wider rather than just focusing on roads. That informed the beautification project I did at Koka junction in Asaba which, unfortunately, was burnt down during the Endsars protest in October last year.
“We are into planning proper. And as you may be aware, the Urban Renewal Law, the Urban Development Law which has been in the House of Assembly for six years was recently passed on the very last day of their plenary before they went on recess. They are back now and I’m sure they will do the needful to ensure it is transmitted to His Excellency for signing so that it can become a law So, Urban Renewal will now have a footing in executing its core mandate, which is planning.
“So, that bill that has just been passed, if signed into law, will give Urban Renewal the impetus to carry out its function. As we speak, we are into construction of roads, we are into beautification, we are into urban upgrade and slum upgrades. So far, the ministry has done very well.
Explaining further, Akpowowo stated that the new concept of Urban Renewal has been redefined in recent times, adding that rather than concentrating on urban cities development, the concept now include upgrade of both urban and rural areas in order to checkmate the age-long rural-urban population drift which eventually put pressure on limited facilities in the urban cities.
Akpowowo who disclosed that he had the opportunity of attending an international forum on Urban Renewal in Abu Dabi, UAE last year, said that the new concept of urban renewal is now defined to include both urban cities and rural areas, adding that if the cities are developed without the rural areas, there will be rural-urban population drift which negatively affects facilities in the cities.
He said: “We have declared Delta State as a planning area. I was able to attend a World Urban Forum in Abu Dabi last year and the concept has changed from urban renewal to Urban and Rural renewal. This is because when you say urban, you mean cities. When you develop infrastructures in Asaba, for instance, and you leave Issele Uku, Ibusa, Ogwashi-Uku, Onicha Ugbo and all the environs undeveloped, there will be rural-urban drift. People will leave those smaller towns and come to Asaba and those facilities you provided for a limited number of persons in Asaba will be over-stretched and collapse.
“So, the new concept of planning is that when you plan for the urban cities, you must also plan for the rural areas so that the infrastructures that are needed to survive are at the doorstep of the rural communities and by so doing, they don’t necessarily move from the rural communities to the cities.
“So, we are now trying to do what we called planning for the entire state and not the urban cities alone. That is why, even though Ethiope East is more of rural communities, we have been able to tar some roads in Isiokolo and Eku. We are also tarring a road in Ovu as we speak. These are rural areas but our belief is that we should develop the rural areas parri passu with the urban centres.”
The Commissioner who is the national publicity secretary of the DC-23 used the occasion to reiterate that the lobby group which is based in Delta Central Senatorial District of the State is not new development, adding that in the days of the former governor of the State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, there were also such groups as Equity 2007 which was formed in Delta North to ensure that Delta Central as at then relinquish power to Delta South or Delta North.
Delta South, according to him, also came up with the group called G3 comprising of Ijaws, Itsekiri and Isoko, stating that they were also poised to ensure power left Delta Central to Delta South.
“So, DC-23 is just like what G3 did and what Anioma Agenda did. That is what we are doing. We are saying that the governorship, having gone round the state out of struggle for equity, it is equitable and just and fair that it should come back to Central after 16 years. So, it will be unfair and unjust for anyone to say that we should wait for another 8 years.
“We are lobbying, we are now carrying cutlasses and guns. We are lobbying and where it become necessary we kneel like we do for traditional rulers, asking them to please support us this time for us to produce the next governor because, at one point or the other, we have also supported you.
“And whether it is written or not written, by divine mandate, power has gone round the three senatorial districts and so, nobody can say he has been shortchanged”, he said.
