Consequently, the elders and chiefs of the community are pleading with the federal, state and local governments to come to their aid as they are currently forced to seek medication in neighbouring communities and far away Yenagoa, the state capital.

Lamenting the plight of the community in an interview in Yenagoa, Chief Ebizimor Benis said the abandoned health centre was a federal project awarded in 2006.

Chief Benis who is the Community Development Committee (CDC) chairman said the community was notified that the contract was in three parts as well as the supply of drugs and other materials such as beddings.

His words, “the contractors for the supply of drugs and other materials have supplied theirs since December 2006. Both the drugs and the materials are just laying waste in our community store now.

“We are told that the contract sum amounted to N33 million. But not even the foundation of the health centre has been dug. It is painful to note that the contractor is an Ijaw man.”

He expressed fears that the drugs might be nearing their expiry dates, alleging that certain individuals had colluded with the building contractors to shortchange Otuogidi and neighbouring communities.

He said the contracting firm is Port Harcourt based and is using an indigene of the community as its supplies contractor.

On whether the community plan to do under the circumstance, the CDC chairman said “we have reported it to the Federal Government through Mr. Clever Ikisikpo, our representative at the House of Representatives, who promised to do something.”

In a related development the December 2008 date for the completion of the Bayelsa government 500 bed specialist hospital might not be feasible given the slow pace of work at the complex and recent alteration of its interior design by the present administration.

The multibillion naira project which was started about six years ago by the administration of former Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha but is yet to be completed in spite of the huge resources it had gulped.

Though the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Azibapu Eruani had during a tour of government hospitals assured that the project would be completed in December but recent findings indicate that the projected completion date would not be feasible given the slow pace of work at the project site.

When Vanguard visited the project site yesterday work on the replacement of the initial tiles which were removed from the floor is yet to be completed while some of the structures are also yet to have their windows fitted.

Also work on the construction of the doctors’ quarters is yet to take off.

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