DESOPADEC Jobs Are Executed Based On Production Quantum— John Nani

By Etatsemi Onoriode

The Executive Director, Finance and Administration, (EDFA), on the Board of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), Chief John Obukowho Nani, has said that the financial allocation for jobs executed by the Commission was based on the production quantum of each ethnic nationality.

He made this assertion in an interview on DESOPADEC WEEKLY TV programme, emphasizing that while the Itsekiri ethnic nationality offers 29% of oil production quantum in the State, the Ijaw ethnic nationality produces 27%, the Urhobo ethnic nationality produces 21%, the Isoko Ethnic nationality produces 14%, while the Ndokwa ethnic nationality produces 9%.

He said: “The jobs you see being done by DESOPADEC today, are based on what each nationality produces.

“In order to evenly spread what comes to each nationality, a lot of calculations and planning are usually carried out, so that some areas don’t feel cheated or neglected. If the Commission for instance, receives an allocation of a Hundred Million Naira, automatically, Twenty-nine Million Naira would go to the Itsekiri ethnic nationality while Twenty-seven million Naira would go to the Ijaw ethnic nationality and down down to Isoko and Ndokwa with Fourteen million and Nine million Naira, respectively, according to the production quantum.”

He further asserted that the present Board was not owing any contractor and that any outstanding debt was brought on by the previous boards.

He added: “This present Board came up with the 60:40 percent ratio, wherein 60% of the funds that comes in is allocated to servicing old debts while 40% is concentrated on new jobs.

“We make sure all the contractors get a little of what comes to the Commission. No contractor is left out, but most of them complain of the amount they are paid because, they want their money to be paid en bloc.”

The EDFA, while stressing that the Board was poised towards completing all awarded projects, said that the Engineering staff of the Commission were now being engaged in carrying out market surveys for the preparation of Bills Of Quantity (BOQs), before any job was awarded to contractors, thereby phasing out the era of engaging the services of Consultants in the Commission.

Chief Nani, during the interview, also extensively spoke on the various efforts the Board was making, in order for DESOPADEC to deliver on its mandate.

““One of such efforts is the regular and timely payment of staff salaries before the end of each month. This serves as a motivator and morale booster for the workers. Secondly, staff at all levels are now constantly being engaged in various career trainings so they can deliver on the job,” he said.

Speaking further, Chief Nani said, “One of the first things this Board did on assumption of duty, was to call for a meeting with the Directors and other Management staff of the Commission. The essence was to build a cordial relationship between the Board and the Management of the Commission. “Similarly, in a bid to reposition and give the Commission a positive image, staff of the Media and Public Affairs Unit were trained on ‘Building Creative Communication/Public Relations Platforms for strategic repositioning other staff of the Commission from Department of Investment and Industrial Promotions as well as those from the Safety, Security and Medical Unit, were equally trained by DESOPADEC, for better service delivery. Board members and some Directors in the Commission were not left out, in the better service delivery training as well.“

All these, according to Chief Nani, were carried out by DESOPADEC, to deliver on the mandate for which it was set