By Emma Arubi
WARRI— AS the pro-posed amendment to the law establishing the Delta State Oil Intervention Agency, DESOPADEC,  passes through the second reading in the State House of Assembly, the Concerned Indigenes of Delta Oil  Producing Communities COINDOPOC, has charged the lawmakers not to make laws that would strangulate greater participation of oil bearing communities in the Commission.

The group,  meanwhile,  applauded the rotational principle of the Chairmanship position of the Commission to give every section of the state a sense of belonging, adding that the position of the Secretary to the Commission, should be manned only by a person from oil bearing community, with at least 15 years post NYSC experience in the public or private sector.

In a statement in Warri, weekend, Chairman of COINDOPOC, Mr. David Akpobasa, appealed to the state Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, to consider the appointment of a woman to the Board of the Commission, adding  that the absence of women on the Board amounted to gender discrimination.

The group called  for equitable distribution and allotment of projects to all sectors of the state in accordance with the oil production quota principle and advised the state lawmakers to be properly guided in their amendment of  the DESOPADEC Act as the Commission was set up to address the peoples’ need.

“While we support the principle of rotational Chairmanship for the Board as being proposed, it is our expectation that any son or daughter of the oil bearing communities with at least 15 years post graduation experience in the public or private sector should be appointed as Secretary to  the Commission”, the group said.