By Festus Ahon
UGHELLI—SPECIAL Adviser to Delta State Governor on Oil and Gas, Mr. David Ekereokosu, has hailed the state House of Assembly for the amendment and prompt passage of the new Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission, DESOPADEC, bill into law.
He said that the new bill will enhance the operation of the Commission, and urged the interim management committee of  DESOPADEC to give priority to the development of oil bearing communities in the state.

Speaking with newsmen, Ekereokosu, charged the commission’s interim management committee not to be distracted in its mandate to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people of the oil producing communities.

According to him, “repositioning DESOPADEC for better performance has been a challenging task for the Governor, the new interim management committee made up of senior civil servants has a lot to do in this direction.”

Pointing out that the new management came at a very critical period,  when the State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan will be presenting his report card to the people on achievements recorded so far and his plan for the future, he said the dissolved management of DESOPADEC did their best despite the challenges it faced as a new commission.

He advised oil bearing communities to be at peace with the commission in the interest of the Nigeria project, adding “oil is the mainstay of the nation’s economy.”

“Governor Uduaghan has shown sufficient interest in the oil and gas business by providing conducive environment for multi-national oil companies to operate in the state,” Ekereokosu said, charging oil companies operating in the state to reciprocate the Governor’s kind gesture by showing more respect to the government of the state, its officials and the host communities.

“The state government will soon embark on sensitization visit to oil bearing communities to educate the people on opportunities in key area of oil and gas business. Most of them are ignorant of the opportunities in oil and gas business,” he added.

The people must have the required knowledge for the Local Content Policy to make impact on their lives.
“When the people are adequately carried along, the restiveness in host communities would be completely eradicated”, he added.