The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (DESOPADEC), Chief Festus Ochonogor, has embarked on an inspection tour of the excavation work on canals in Uvwie and Warri local government areas of the state.
While briefing newsmen, Chief Ochonogor, in company of the Executive Director of Projects, Olorogun Taleb Tebite, stated that it was part of the commission’s responsibility to monitor and clean clogged drainages around its mandate areas, taking into consideration the effect of flood and its devastating impact on communities.
Ochonogor said that the commission had achieved a milestone of work on the other areas to the extent that is why Olorogun Tebite and his team were commissioned to embark on the maintenance job of de-silting the drains for free flow of water to avoid flooding when it rains.
Commending the operational modalities applied, Ochonogor said: “Having completed work on the smaller drains, it will be emptied into the canals, as the canals are being tidied up to avert debris from going back to the canals.”
He expressed concern at the extent of deterioration on the road to Ogbe layout, off Jakpa road area, where the road had been cut into two.
He said his attention was drawn to it and that was why he came to see the magnitude of the damage done and how they could give succour to the people of the area by carrying out repairs on the culvert so that people could use the road again.
The commission’s helmsman further stated that the projects embarked upon were in line with the philosophy and determination of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori who had mandated DESOPADEC as an interventionist agency to be involved in the drive to have a new face of Warri, adding “we embarked on this project because of the encouragement we have been receiving from the governor to contribute our quota to give Warri a facelift.”
Appealing to residents of Warri and its environs to adopt a maintenance culture, he admonished them to stop throwing refuse into the canals and desist from the habit of destroying government properties.
He also stated that the drains were built by the government to ensure that the environment is kept clean.
He called on residents to continue to help the government by helping to maintain their environment and cautioning those destroying the canals.
Earlier, landlords of Ogbe Layout, represented by Mr. Patrick Fregene, appreciated the state government and DESOPADEC for coming to their rescue.
He said residents of the area had been passing through pain which had made some of them relocate to other areas.
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