Delta communities protest sack of oil agency’s board

MASS protests were held yesterday over the recent sack of Delta State Oil Producing Communities Development Commission (DESOPADEC) by the House of Assembly.

The DESOPADEC board, it was learnt, was dissolved for alleged non-performance despite N149 billion allegedly made available to the agency in the last five years.

But the board that was sacked did not benefit from the fund as it was only a year in office and had allegedly had no fiscal allocation to it to execute projects.

Protesters from oil communities who were angry over the decision of the House to dissolve the board yesterday took over the Warri office of DESOPADEC.

But a combined team of soldiers and mobile policemen was quickly deployed to secure the office premises of the commission which is almost opposite the Navy base.

The protesters numbering hundreds besieged the office carrying placards with various inscriptions and chanting songs against the dissolution of the DESOPADEC board.

Some of the placards read “We’ll not take this decision by the state house of assembly” and “marginalisation can cause ethnic crisis.”

The spokesman of the protesters who identified himself as Omulubi Newuwumi, said the House of Assembly acted in bad faith by dissolving the DESOPADEC board.

“The House rushed to dissolve this board that was fighting to bring development to the people of Delta State. The board was not even allowed to execute any budget before it was dissolved. The right of the legislators also borders on the right of the people and we are of the view that the sacking of the board was anti-people,” Newuwumi said.

But despite the dissolution and sacking of the staff of DESOPADEC, the Commissioner representing the Itsekiri ethnic nation, Chief Michael Diden, yesterday vowed that he would not leave the office as it was not the House of Assembly that appointed him. He said the governor has the right to hire and fire and that he was awaiting the governor’s decision.