Delta State Ministry of Urban Renewal has been urged to ensure geographical spread of its projects across the three senatorial districts and the twenty five local government areas of the state.
The State House of Assembly Committee on Urban Renewal, gave this advice when the Commissioner in charge of the ministry, Chief Arthur Akpowhowho appeared before members to defend the 2022 budget estimates of the ministry at the State Assembly complex in Asaba.
The Committee’s advice, was sequel to an observation made by a member of the committee and the representative of Aniocha North State Constituency in the House, Hon. Engr. Emeka Nwaobi who expressed dismay over the total neglect and sidelining of his constituency in the Ministry’s budget for a record of three times under the watch of Chief Akpowhowho as the Commissioner.
Hon. Nwaobi in his observation, asked to know if Aniocha North was still in the map of Delta State and why the Constituency was not captured in the Ministry’s Budget, even as he described the sidelining of his constituency by the Ministry under Chief Akpowhowho in its Budgets as painful and unfair, more so, when the Committee he remains a member kept approving the budget of the ministry every year.
“I want to note with great dismay that since you became the Commissioner of this Ministry, not even a single project has ever been captured, not to talk of being executed in Aniocha North. Can you please tell me why,” Hon. Nwaobi queried and said he brought up the matter based on the fact that he had personally approached the Commissioner in the past about this issue and he promised to do something about it, and “it pains me a lot because I am a member of this committee; every year, you come before me to defend your budget and I am sitting down watching you defend a budget that completely excludes my Constituency.
“The first budget, let us assume you couldn’t handle everything in the 25 Local Government Areas, you did the second, this is the third one, apparently you have just one, and you know, this administration will only play half role on that one. I don’t know why this should happen.
“If my people hear like they already know that I am a member of this committee and for a whole tenure, not even street light or be it a project of One Hundred Thousand Naira from your Ministry is done in Aniocha North. We may have to write to you as a constituency, for you to tell us the state that we belong to, if you cannot make a case for us for at least a single project to be done in that constituency.
“Because I know the number of the projects that have been done in your constituency and you come to the House, we clear you as the Commissioner, you come before us to defend your budget and you assume that we are not part of Delta State,” the Honourable member said.
The Chairman of the Committee, Hon Oboro Preyor and other members of the Committee, also pointed out the concentration of projects in some areas why none was executed in certain Local Government Areas.
The Lawmakers expressed concern that even those areas were also not captured in the 2022 budget proposal that is before the house and stressed the need to correct the imbalance to reflect the oneness and unity of the people.
They stated that as representatives of the various constituencies, such development cannot be taken for granted and charged the Commissioner and his team to ensure that the issue and other issues raised were addressed.
The Lawmakers also directed the Commissioner to forward to the Committee list of projects awarded by the ministry in the outgoing year 2021.
While acknowledging the fact that the ministry had not carried out any project in the last two budgets in Aniocha North, the Commissioner, Chief Arthur Akpowhowho, flanked by the Permanent Secretary, assured that with the Ministry’s “Intervention Fund” they should be able to do a project in Aniocha North in 2022.
“To answer your question, Aniocha North is in the map of Delta State and as you have rightly observed, we have not carried out any project in the last two Budgets in Aniocha North. But I can assure you sir that with Our “IF”, we should be able to do a project for Aniocha North in 2022,” the Commissioner assured.
The Commissioner had earlier told the Committee that the ministry recorded 33.3 percent budget performance in 2021, including the one point two billion naira expended for road constructions and rehabilitations in parts of the state.
Chief Akpowhowho said the sum of five point two billion naira was allocated for the ministry in the state 2022 budget estimates, saying that priority attention would be given to the completion of ongoing projects while some few others were introduced.
He assured the Committee that the issues raised would be given the deserved attention, noting that the intervention funds captured in the budget would be well spread and utilized.
The Commissioner commended the Chairman and members of the Committee for their support and appealed for sustained collaboration.
