By Austin Ogwuda

Asaba—DELTA State Commissioner for Special Duties in charge of State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, Mr. Timi Tonye, has assured Deltans that 50 per cent of the 13 per cent derivation fund allocated to the Commission was being judiciously used. He noted that it was a new dawn for the oil producing communities of the state.

Tonye, who addressed newsmen in Asaba, said that to ensure the implementation of the commission’s mandate of executing relevant projects,  people-oriented projects were conceptualised, designed and executed  based on extensive consultations with the oil-producing areas and input from stakeholders.

He said the commissionawarded 1664 projects in the 19 local government areas which form its areas of jurisdiction between 2007 till date, adding that out of these projects, 347 were sited in Itsekiri, 424 in Ijaw, 455 in Urhobo, 305 in Isoko and 115 in Ndokwa areas.

He pointed out that the projects were executed in accordance with the production quantum of the various ethnic nationalities under its purview.

He highlighted some of the challenges of the commission to include slow response by stakeholders to attend town hall meetings and youth restiveness.