* Youth: Scrap DESOPADEC, Channels Funds To Host Communities For Jobs, education…
From Ameachi Prosper (The New Diplomat’s Delta Correspondent)
Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has advanced the reason why the Federal Government should as a matter of urgency resuscitate the Warri Port, saying it is key to curbing unemployment in the state and the nation.
The governor made the call on Thursday at a Town Hall meeting with youths, including #ENDSARS protesters, civil society groups, students, social groups, community leaders and stakeholders across Delta South and Delta Central Senatorial Districts in Warri.
He said that with the congestion of the ports in Lagos, Federal Government should revive Warri Port and other seaports in Delta to boost the nation’s economy and create employment for the youths.
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The Governor stated that the rate of unemployment was very high, but could not be immediately reversed, stressing that checking unemployment was not just about employing people into public service as not more than five per cent of the population would benefit from it.
Okowa disclosed that to tackle the unemployment trend, his administration adopted skills acquisition and entrepreneurship programmes to empower them.
“We will try to improve our processes of helping our youths to acquire skills and provide them with starter packs.
“The more active ports we have the better for the nation; our economy isn’t working the way it ought to work because Lagos is congested.
“The Warri channel needed to be dredged and the Federal Government has awarded phase one of the dredging but until phase two is awarded we will not be able to achieve any success story on that,” he said.
However, some youths believe that a starting point should be the Scrapping of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission(DESOPADEC), and funds freed from that agency’s and channeled directly to the host Oil producing communities, thereby avoiding what they called ” administrative criminals.”
Some the youths while commenting via Social Media accused managers of DESOPADEC both past and present of inappropriately applying the 13% Derivation fund that is meant for the Oil Producing communities of Delta State that would help provide gainful jobs and educational opportunities to our teeming youths, thereby diverting the funds into ” bogus, unsuitable and unacceptable projects that have no bearing whatsoever on the youths of Oil producing communities.”
According to them, the starting pint should be to scrap DESOPADEC outright and pay the funds directly to the host oil producing communities as being canvassed by HOSTCOM led by Chief Wellington Okrika, himself, a former Chairman of the controversial DESOPADEC.
For instance, Mr Aruviere Martin Egharhevwe, wrote on his Facebook page: ” If we don’t end DESOPADEC in Delta State, that agency will end up ending all of us. We need to rescue Delta State resources from the hands of administrative criminals.”
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The same writer in a similar post, said the youths want good education, jobs, good roads, good hospitals, private investors, portable drinking water, electricity, healthcare system, as well as peace and security in Delta state.
” We are sick and tired of the “Ose! Ose!” and “I’m loyal” culture that pervades our land,” he added.
Not-withstanding, Governor Okowa said that the State Government was building multi-billion naira Storm Water drainages in Warri to address the perennial flooding in the city.
“Water channel in Warri is built up, so we set up a committee of those who knew what Warri was in those days and I am glad that today we are now at the operationalisation stage of the report.
“The Warri Stadium will be rehabilitated after we have succesfully addressed the flooding challenges in the area.
“Government is about the participation of the people and the governance process is not easy but I believe that we can do better and we can only do that when we begin to talk with ourselves.
“A representative government ordinarily should be about the people’s interest, but it appears we are not doing enough because if every representative returns home to meet with the people and seek their inputs on the challenges facing them, then we would have been able to address these challenges.
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“Going forward, House of Assembly members, Commissioners, Council Chairmen and Councillors should communicate more with their people so that we can nip in the bud some of these, early enough,” he said.
Okowa urged the youths to show interest in governance and challenged them to show capacity that they could do what the elders failed to do.
“We have, as a government, encouraged more youths into governance because we believe that youths are the leaders of tomorrow.
“In our next local government elections, we will ensure that 80 to 90 per cent of youths and girls occupy councillorship positions,” he stated.
Earlier, Commissioner for Youths Development, Comrade Ifeanyi Egwunyenga, had in his remark underscored the importance of youths in the social and economic development of any nation.
He said the Town Hall meeting was convened in recognition of the critical roles the youths played in nation-building.
Speakers at the meeting said the ENDSARS protests were an expression of the anger of the youths in not just ending police brutality but also ending bad governance, unemployment and the hopelessness of tomorrow.
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They called on the government to bridge the gap between it and the youths by bringing more youths into governance and called for an amendment of the Nigeria Constitution to pave way for restructuring and resource control.
