…Residents demand probe, refund, rebuild

By Egufe Yafugborhi

IWHREKAN Technical College, Iwhrekan in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State was conceived as a beacon of skill and enterprise.

 Commissioned with fanfare in October 2014, it was supposed to churn out welders, fitters, and technicians for the gas industry that surrounds the community.

But within months of take-off, the same state government that built it locked its gates over shoddy construction and zero equipment.

Today, the faded signpost still reads Iwhrekan Technical College. The reality is a sorry sight. The facility now operates as a basic state secondary school, with leaking roofs, abandoned classrooms, and a demoralised student body. The community is livid and they are pointing fingers.

Happy beginning, sad end

At the centre of the storm is Zik Gbemre, opinion leader and Coordinator of the Niger-Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC). He is angrier than most.

“Iwhrekan Technical College was built in 2013 during Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan’s administration,” Gbemre recalled. 

The contract was awarded by the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) and executed by a yet-to-be-identified company allegedly linked to a political figure from the community.

“Officially commissioned in October 2014, despite being fully funded and paid for by DESOPADEC, the facility was constructed far below standards for a vocational institution,” Gbemre said.

The Delta State Technical Education Board rejected the college outright after a monitoring visit. The founding principal, Mr. M. O. Morka, was deployed from Sapele Technical College. A second principal, Mr. Pius Emifoniye, came from Ogor Technical School. By the time a third principal was posted, the school had lost its technical college status entirely.

“To prevent the site from complete waste, the state government downgraded it to a secondary school under the Post-Primary Education Board (PPEB). Till date, the institution has been managed by secondary school administrators,” Gbemre added. 

Ghost of a college

When this reporter visited the school, the decay was unmistakable. Roofs have caved in. Many classrooms lie abandoned. A handful of overcrowded rooms now host pupils who have no idea they are sitting inside a failed technical college.

A resident told NDV: “People are apatheticto sending their wards here. Even as a secondary school, the learning environment is too poor to encourage parents.”

The current principal, Mrs. E. Sagay, is deployed under the PPEB. One teacher, speaking quietly, confirmed the community’s worst fears: “That thing didn’t work. The technical college is just a name. What we are managing here is a basic secondary school.”

We are Nigeria’s largest gas hub, and this is what we get?— Gbemre 

Gbemre’s voice rises when he describes the irony. “Iwhrekan is no ordinary community. We are the single largest natural gas hub in Nigeria. We host Utorogu NAG 1, 2, and ongoing Phase 3. We host the Utorogu Gas Processing Plant and the Starzs CNG Station. Enormous wealth leaves our soil every day.”

Yet, he said, a standard technical college would have been the only functional government project in the entire community. “A functional technical school here would have offered students direct industrial training at the gas plants next door. Graduates would walk into operations support jobs. Instead, we have a glorified secondary school.”

SOS to Governor Oborevwori

The community is now appealing directly to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to right what they call a “historical wrong.”

In a formal message, Gbemre demanded an investigation into the failed Iwhrekan Technical College project; prosecution of those involved, including a refund of the state’s money; re-award of the project to a competent contractor, with a rebuild to Technical Education Board standards and   use of the original, already surveyed site to demolish or thoroughly restructure the existing ‘quack’ buildings.

“The governor recently opened a model technical college in Omadino. We ask him to do the same here,” Gbemre said. “We look forward to his prompt action.”