The Isoko Youth Agenda (IYA), has commended the minority leader of the House of Representatives, Hon Leo Ogor for moving a motion urging the federal government to convert the Delta state polytechnic Ozoro, to a Federal polytechnic.

In a statement issued today in Ozoro, Isoko North Local government headquarters, the acting President of IYA, Comrade Sebastine Agbefe described the motion as long overdue.

Agbefe said: “IYA received the news of the adoption of the motion for the Federal Government to convert the Ozoro Polytechnic with great joy. We commend Hon Leo Ogor for communicating the aspirations and yearnings of the Isoko people to the house and more commendations are also due to the members of the House of Representatives for allowing reasons to prevail by adopting the motion’’.

IYA acting president Sebastine Agbefe

The IYA acting president urged the minority leader to go beyond a motion and rally his colleagues for a legislative bill for the establishment of Federal Polytechnic Ozoro to be presented to the house to give legal backing to the institution, like Senator Omo-Agege did for Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE).

He explained that almost every state in the federation has a Federal Polytechnic but Delta state has none. While noting that no institution in Delta State is more equipped for the take-off of a Federal Polytechnic than the Ozoro Polytechnic. According to the IYA acting president, the Infrastructure at the Ozoro polytechnic today can compete with those of any higher institution in the country.

Agbefe however pleaded with the Executive arm to this course, while explaining that support for this request will be a litmus test to assess the Federal government’s disposition to peaceful agitations from Oil producing ethnic groups, stressing that “apart from Police stations, Flow stations flaring gases and pipelines taking oil out of Isoko, there is no Federal institution or presence in Isoko despite our enormous contributions from oil and gas to the nation’s treasury”.

“Let it been known that during the gale of disruption of oil installations recently carried out by the Niger- Delta Avengers that almost paralysed the nation’s economy, there was no single minute that the oil stopped flowing from the eight oil fields in the isoko territory” He said.

“This request provides a window for the federal government to show to the Isoko people that she acknowledges the burden of environmental degradation and its economic woes that farmers, fishermen and inhabitants of the Isoko area have had to put up with since Oil was discovered in Uzere in 1958.”

Agbefe also call on Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to throw his weight behind this request by deploying all legislative acumen at his disposal as a former Senator to ensure that this request is given a legal backing at the National Assembly by ensuring that the bill seeking the establishment of Federal Polytechnic, Ozoro becomes law.