The Dodo River Communities Development Association in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa has inaugurated projects worth over N141.65 million funded by the NNPC/Chevron Nigeria Ltd Joint Venture.
The communities which benefitted from the projects were Amatu I, Amatu II, Biabiri I, Bilabiri II and Bisangbene.
The projects included Dodo River Secretariat in Yenagoa, building and furnishing of Bilabiri I Primary School, water treatment projects, concrete roads and twin-engine speed boats.
Others were communication systems, provision of plastic chairs and tables and canopies for the communities, among others.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of Dodo House, a secretariat for the communities on Thursday, July 9, the Permanent Secretary in Bayelsa Ministry of Mineral Resources, Mr Okebia Keku, lauded the association for the prudent use of the funds.
He said that the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU), which is the development template the government was overseeing, had given communities greater participation in the selection and execution of development projects.
Earlier, the Chairman of the association, Mr Berry Negerese, had explained that the projects were executed with funds provided between 2016 and 2019.
He said that the introduction of the GMoU approach by Chevron had enhanced the capacities of Niger Delta communities in developmental activities, as they now handle projects funded by oil firms in a transparent manner, thanking the oil major for funding the projects.
The traditional ruler of Iduwini Kingdom in Ekeremor, King Joel Ibane, on his part, applauded Chevron for the gesture but appealed to the oil firm to sustain its development activities in its host communities.
The Senior Programmes Manager, Participatory Partnership for Community Development, the association’s mentoring organisation, Mrs Uju Obiora, also commended the transparent governance structure adopted.
The incoming chairman of the association, Mr Francis Amanmogiran, urged Dodo River communities to close ranks and seek more development funds from donors to complement their sole source of funding from Chevron.
CNL, it will be recalled, has sponsored or executed many projects that promote health, education and economic development across the Niger Delta and beyond.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
On the occasion of Africa Anti-Corruption Day, President Muhammadu Buhari has urged African leaders to ensure the immediate actualisation of the Common African Position on Assets Recovery (CAPAR), as the continent celebrates Anti-Corruption Day, July 11, 2020…
Read Full StoryThe Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the University of Lagos (UNILAG) branch, Akoka, has asked the Minister of Education, Mr Adamu Adamu and the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Abubakar Rasheed, to prevail on the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the…
Read Full StoryControversy trailed the wedding Fatiha of the eldest son of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) held on Saturday in Kano state…
Read Full StoryDr Idris Salako, Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, says the state government will enforce the law on the demolition of distressed buildings…
Read Full StoryTHOUGH the Federal Government is dithering on the resumption of academic activities in schools across the country, the Oyo State government recently took a bold step and announced that academic activities would resume in schools, with the forerunners being pupils in primary six and secondary school students in JSS3 and…
Read Full StorySTEPHEN GBADAMOSI looks at the problems caused by the phenomenon of deputy governor and vice president offices alongside the huge budgetary allocations to them and lack of clear-cut responsibilities…
Read Full StoryThe United States again broke its own record for new coronavirus cases in a single day, with over 66,600 fresh infections documented on Friday, according to latest data from Johns Hopkins University…
Read Full StoryI would advise people never to believe that rubbish from that former British colonial official, Harold Smith, that British rigged the 1959 general elections for the North to control Nigeria. It is a bunch of lies and disjointed attempt to ravish our country and her history. That man was a hired agent recruited to do that dirty job to…
Read Full StoryAGAIN, the system felled Ibrahim Magu, Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) last week. It had always done that. Olusegun Obasanjo, the maiden president at inception of Nigeria’s fourth republic, first erected the crucifixion upon which a crime-fighting czar was hung…
Read Full StoryIN its reaction to Federal Government’s announcement of the full deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said it would mobilise its members against the move. Although the labour movement made some germane observations about the welfare of the populace…
Read Full StoryI have always maintained that only the pathetically ignorant and the deepest of the shallows will ever believe that Nigeria as is can fight corruption…
Read Full Story
and then