Uduaghan accuses DESOPADEC of awarding contracts beyond their budget • Says Ndokwa leaders stopped Ibori from constructing community bridge

By: Linda Nwaeze
From: Lagos

Re-elected Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has accused the former leadership of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC of awarding contracts beyond their budget.

The re-elected Delta State governor made the declaration December 2010 at a gala night/interactive session held at the Coliseum hotel along Salvation road in Ikeja, Lagos State. According to the one time Secretary to Delta State government, the Commission which gets a total of N2.5billion monthly spent huge sums of money frivolously without meeting the yearnings of indigenes of oil producing communities.

Our Lagos Bureau Chief reports that Dr. Uduaghan puts the amount spent on medical bills in 6 months as N969 million, while hotel bills gulped N265 million. This according to the governor led to the on-going reforms in the commission, just as he promised that all backlog of monies owed contractors will be paid.

Dr. Uduaghan who told the gathering of contractors, industrialists, politicians and selected journalists that he has a fifty year plan for developing communities in Delta State, accused Ndokwa leaders of stopping the construction of a bridge across the Nasil river to Agip during the administration of embattled former Delta State governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori.

On how he is coping with the pockets of opposition within the PDP, particularly as the guber rerun inches closer, the former Delta State Commissioner for Health responded, “I’m giving them more problems than they are giving me. Some may be loud and some vocal”. He added, “I can’t tell the strategy, but we are strategizing to win”.

Dr. Uduaghan claimed that his administration gave clusters of land to 900 people and stated that reconstruction of schools is in progress to address the decaying infrastructures in public schools.

The Delta State Commissioner for Culture, Youth and Tourism, Barr. Richard Mofe Damijo, Dr Ruben Abati, foremost Urhobo born Nollywood actor, Justus Esiri, Itsekiri born Raggae crooner, Orits Wiliki and Ras Kimono were among prominent Deltans that attended the forum.