By SIMON EBEGBULEM
BENIN CITY— Chairman of the Edo State Oil and Gas Producing Areas Development Commission, EDSOGPADEC, Mr. Vincent Uwadiae, yesterday, described as misleading and untrue, insinuations that the state government was interfering in the activities of the commission.

He said Governor Adams Oshiomhole had maintained that funds accruing to oil producing communities must be expended for the people of the area, adding “we have adhered strictly to the laws establishing EDSOGPADEC and contrary to the insinuations, we have worked freely without any interference from the state government and that is the secret of our success so far.”

Highlighting the achievements of the Commission in the past one year, Uwadiae, who was flanked by the Permanent Secretary of the Commission, Mrs Betty Igbeyi and other members of the Commission, said,  the commission had completed 34 projects in the three oil producing local government areas of Orhiomnwon, Ikpoba Okhai and Ovia North East.

He said: “We recently gave out 45 projects and the contractors, have been mobilised to site. Some of these projects includes schools, solar borehole, health centre, police stations, markets and construction of roads.