‘Ondo State’s shoreline projects defaulters will be brought to justice’

AS waves of criticisms from several quarters have continued to trail the multi-billion naira contracts of the Nigeria Delta Development Commission (NNDC) in Aiyetoro community in Ilaje council area of Ondo State, the senator representing the South Senatorial district where the project is located, Pastor Yele Omogunwa, has frowned at the allegedly poor handling of the contract, insisting that the contractors must give accounts of the projects.

Aside from Aiyetoro the renowned theocratic community, other communities along the coastline were submerged by a recent and deadlier sea incursion due to a heavy rain which lasted for weeks during which the communist community lost property worth hundred of million naira to the natural disaster.

The coastal communities in the senatorial district, stretching from the Araromi Waterside boundary of the state, to Ogun State in the west and close to 100 kilometres up the communities around Benin River in the east, along Delta State, have appealed to both the state and the Federal Government for prompt intervention.

Senator Omogunwa sympathized with the riverine people over the persistent losses they have continued to incur over the years due to the recurrent surge.

Omogunwa lamented the deteriorated state of the coastal area despite the fact that it is the state’s main sources of income being an oil producing area which made the state to rank as the fifth among the nine oil producing states in the country.

“My people in Araromi, Oke Zioni, Ori Oke Iwa Mimo, Gbabijo, Ugbanre, Abetogho, Erunna, Idi-Ogba, Ile Pete, Awoye, Ikorigho, Oghoye, Abereke, Ogogoro and Aiyetoro, which was terribly hit twice last month, are facing possible extinction,” he said.

The senator raised an alarm over the dangers threatening the people of the coastal area, especially Aiyetoro community and confirmed that considerable part of the prosperous community has been submerged completely by the raging sea tide.

“Many of their houses have been taken over by the ocean surge and some of the people are now living in their boats, displaced along the creeks and neighbouring towns in the upland region.”

According to him: “I am preparing a proposal on this motion of ocean surge in regards to Aiyetoro and other communities in the southern part of the state so that our people are not totally wiped out of the face of the earth.”

The residents of Aiyetoro and other coastline communities have been raising hues and cry over the contracts awarded twice by Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), to Gallet Nigeria Limited in 2004 and Dredging Atlantic in 2009.

For the record, NDDC first awarded the contract to Gallet Nigeria Limited in 2004 and paid N650 million mobilisation fees with 18 months completion deadline, but was terminated after four years of non-performance.

It was re-awarded to Dredging Atlantic purportedly owned by one Jide Agboola for N6.5 billion with the payment of N2.5 billion as mobilisation fees, the last contractor who got the Aiyetoro shoreline protection contract in 2009 and who the people said they have never seen for the past six years.

Omogunwa said he discovered that the indigenes protested as far as appearing before the committee set up by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2013 and headed by the former Head of Service of the Federation, Steve Oronsanye to express their grievances against the poor implementation of the contract.

“The indigenes debunked the contractor’s claim before the committee that it had completed the project. My recent visit to the area by confirmed the community’s claim as more than three kilometres of the town is under the sea, completely submerged,” the Senator said.

“We have to key into the policy of accountability of the present government, after my investigation, I discovered that the contract was awarded to one Dredging Atlantic Limited, costing about N6.5 billion.

“They have been paid about N2.5 billion and nothing has been done substantially. Succeeding governments have been shying away from the monitoring of the contract because of the people that are involved. I am sure that this government will expose them and try as much as possible to bring them to work,” Omogunwa said.

“I sympathise with them and I want to assure them that whatever we need to do to bring it to the attention of the Federal Government, I will do it.

“I am working on a motion at the Senate so that government and the whole world will be aware of the injustice and agonies of the coastal inhabitants of the state,” the Senator said.