Rep member, Dennis Idahosa, constituents petition Minister over exclusion from multi-billion naira budgets

The member representing Ovia Federal Constituency of Edo State in the House of Representatives, Hon Dennis Idahosa and 99 persons from his constituency have petitioned the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs who is also overseeing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) over abandonment of the area from its budgets over the years even though the constituency is home to some oil producing areas in Edo state.

The petition addressed to the Minister, Godswill Akpabio said in the last four years, the Ministry and NDDC have expended a budget of over N500 billion in the last four years and no single project was cited in the area.

The petition called on the Minister to immediately begin the process of reconstructing Udo-Inikhorogha and Ekheuan-Gelegele roads which lead to some of the oil producing communities in the Constituency.

Part of the letter read: “The Niger Delta Development Commission (Establishment Act in Part II particularly in Sections 7 (1)a-e and S7 (2) notably to formulate policies and guidelines for the development of the Niger Delta Area and the Commission shall have regard to the varied and specific contributions of each member state of the Commission.

“It is disheartening that for successive years not one single project or empowerment scheme has been domiciled in Ovia Federal Constituency by your ministry and the NDDC.

“Concerned that with about half a trillion naira budgeted for MNDA and NDDC in the last four years, it is grossly inappropriate that no project was captured in the budget for Ovia Federal constituency.

“Sir, communities in Ovia Federal Constituency, Edo state are agrarian and fishing communities with a huge population of youths that are challenged by unemployment yet law abiding irrespective of being from oil producing communities. The patience of our youths and people on the total neglect of Ovia Federal Constituency by your Ministry and the NDDC is waning by the day.”