INTERVIEW: Under Gov. Okowa, The Purpose Why DESOPADEC Was Created Is Defeated —Bishop Amajene

-Says The Agency Has Become A Shadow Of Itself

In this interview, the renowned Bishop Samson Amajene (AmbP) speaks on the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission’s (DESOPADEC) failure in meeting with the aspirations of Deltans in the oil producing communities of the state, a situation the Bishop squarely attributes to the overriding influence of the Sen. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa’s administration when compared to those of his predecessors.

The Bishop called for collaboration among oil producing communities to help savage the Commission as it is the last hope for the oil producing communities.

Sir, may we meet Bishop (Dr.) Samson Amajene AmbP?

I am Bishop Samson Amajene. I am from Benikrukru community in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South-West local government area of Delta state. I am the President of Delta Ijaw Oil and Gas Producing Communities. Basically, I am married to Pastor Mercy Amajene and we are blessed with children. I have been advocating for oil producing communities so that the producing communities can have a better living.

DESOPADEC was established by the Delta State Government to meet certain objectives. Can you avail us on the PURPOSE the government intervention agency was established for Deltans of oil producing areas
We must give thanks to Almighty God for the establishment of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, somewhere in 2006/2007. God answered our prayers as oil producing communities because we have suffered a lot. Our communities are producing oil and gas resources but the livelihood of the communities are nothing to write home about. There are no social amenities, no drinkable water, no health facilities, no motorable roads, no small medium enterprises (SMEs) dilapidated school buildings and the aquatic, floral life has been destroyed as a result of oil exploitation and production.
So, in 2006/7 when the Commission (DESOPADEC) was established by the then State government of Chief James Onanefe Ibori, there was jubilation; there was so much joy and we must give kudos to Chief Wellington Okrika and all members of Host Communities of Nigeria that worked very hard to ensure that the Commission was established as a compensation for the loss of fishing right, farming right and environmental degradation. The commission was not established for the construction of mega projects that only the state or federal governments are expected to do for the people.

Sir, in your opinion, do you think the PURPOSE of DESOPADEC has been achieved since its establishment?
Of a truth, when DESOPADEC came into limelight under the Chairmanship of Chief Wellington Okrika, for the first time, the oil producing communities were having a lease of life. There was jubilation, there was award of contracts, there were projects on a yearly basis; all through the period Chief Wellington Okrika was there, we saw that every year there was budgetary allocation and budget was implemented because the governor then, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, was giving the Commission all the necessary support.
From there on, when the tenure of Chief James Onanefe Ibori expired, Dr. Emmanuel Ewetan Uduaghan took over the mantle of leadership as the governor of the State and himself did quite well. Budget was implemented, budget was not rolled over as it is today. Like today, you see that budget is being rolled over, rolled over and I don’t know if there are any project one can really say has been executed under the current administration; it is just a glimpse of skeletal project, just to fulfill all righteousness, that is being done. And everybody is silent because we felt that the Deputy Governor Barr. Kingsley Otuaro is part of the leadership of the State, and therefore, being our own son we should not do anything to jeopardise the government or to bring problem to the government.
But the more we keep silent, the more we see that our people are suffering and it is unbearable. We have never seen it like this since the establishment of DESOPADEC where there is no implementation of budget, no budget allocation, there is nothing happening; DESOPADEC is a shadow of itself. What is happening currently is that, at the end of every month, the governor will send money for the payment of staffers and then the Commissioners and the Executive Directors will be given some monies to run their office and then it goes on and on, like a recurrent decimal that doesn’t have end. No projects in the community whatsoever, can you imagine that this December, there was no Christmas rice for the oil producing communities? This should be the first time such a thing is happening. So, the purpose why DESOPADEC was created is defeated. This is so appalling.

What do you think are the challenges/problems bedeviling DESOPADEC from achieving optimum performance or meeting with the aspiration of Deltans in the oil producing areas?
Basically, it is supposed to be communities in the law establishing DESOPADEC but because the governor is from a non-oil producing community, when he came into power in 2015, the first thing he did was to send an amendment bill to the State House of Assembly to amend the bill removing the word ‘communities’ and replacing it with ‘local government areas’ so that it can increase the scope of communities or kingdoms that would benefit. It is now a local government thing and no longer producing community stuff.
I want to say here that the problem why DESOPADEC has not being able to fulfill the purpose of its establishment is the state governor and some of his party loyalists, party faithful who receive the 13 percent derivation monthly allocation and then I don’t know what they are doing with the monies, either they are sharing the monies among themselves per local government. There are power brokers within each local government that are getting XY amount and everybody is just quiet.
The governor is the problem; contractors are not paid. I was told that even the governor would approve a contractor that ought to be paid; so if you are not in his good books, your contract will not be paid. For example I was awarded a contract since 2011, up till this day the project has not been commissioned and my community thinks I abandoned the project while the loans are building up yearly. I have written series of letters to the State Governor, to the Chairman of the Commission. Nothing has been done. The deputy governor is aware of this matter too.

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So you can see that people have been suffering and the government is not giving listening ears. I don’t know what they are keeping the money for; it is not that monies are not coming. Monies are coming but they are not using the monies for the benefit of the people. Our people who suffer the brunt of oil exploitation and production are dying. So, I don’t know why monies God sent like the modern day manna to solve our problems, the money is not trickling down to our people, to the common people in the oil producing communities. Rather, power brokers are the ones dividing and sharing this money. It is really sad and I don’t know when this cycle of poverty will end.

If you were to head the Board of DESOPADEC, how would you do things differently?
If I were the chairman of DESOPADEC or the Managing Director of DESOPADEC today, what I would do differently is to ensure that jobs are created for the youths, and every oil producing community is given their money. The money is not the state government’s money. 50% goes to the state and the state government can take care of that one; the remaining 50% belongs oil producing communities; simple and short. If it is N1 billion or N3 billion that is coming to the communities, first and foremost, people are hungry.
There should be some sort of interventions, not only infrastructures are the needs of the people. People need food; they need to eat before you can even talk of infrastructures. There should be food for the people, there should be health facilities, and small medium scale industries that will bring money to the people. There is no any industry, no any kind, either it is farming or businesses that will be spinning some sort of money is not there.
So if I were the chairman of DESOPADEC, what I would do, first and foremost, is to set up in each of the producing communities a committee that money will be given to the producing communities directly and they decide what they want to do with their money. Actually, it is not my money; yes! That is the way it should be done. And if they want projects to be done in their communities they should be the one to tell us what projects should be done and not me trying to take the money that belongs to them and using it on their behalf; not even using it for them but using it for my own selfish purpose. The money belongs to the people and should be given to them. Whatever they want to do with the money is their own business.

Any other areas of concern you would like to avail us with?
All hands must be on deck. Chief Wellington Okrika started this fight. God hearing our prayers used him to bring this money. But now the monies are not the people’s money but now the government money. If the government has been using the money to develop the producing communities, it would have been a different thing. But presently the government is not using the money to develop the oil producing communities. So the government is the problem.
So, all hands must be on deck. The print media, the electronic media, should be engaged. It is like they say, the court is the last hope of the common man. DESOPADEC is the last hope of the oil producing communities and that last hope is now being taken away from us. We all must collaborate, we all must team up together to see what we can do to redeem DESOPADEC. Since this current Board came on board, I don’t know if they have awarded any contract. Nothing! It is a pity.
And again, the State Government and the current Board has also hid under the guise of COVID-19 to exploit the people. Because of COVID-19 nothing is happening. COVID-19 or no COVID-19, the 13% derivation fund as a firstline charge is paid monthly by the Federal Government monthly and therefore that which belongs to the people should be given to them. We should not hide under COVID-19 to exploit the people. Therefore we should not allow the governor to hold the money and spend it to develop Asaba or for election but to develop the oil producing communities.
Thank you.

SOURCE: Pen Global