In a major investment drive, Delta State Government recently conducted a virtual townhall engagement with diaspora indigenes in a bid to acquaint them with ongoing development strides in the state.
The interactive session featured over thirty participants across the globe and was addressed by the state Commissioner for Economic Planning, Mr. Sonny Ekedayen.
It was a no-holds barred mostly question-and-answer session where Indigenes of the state asked questions based on information available to them regarding current social, economic and political developments in the state.
In an opening remark, Mr. Ekedayen told the Delta State Diaspora that indigenes of the state had never had any better than now as the State Governor, His Excellency, Sheriff Oborevwhori had done so much in the state in a space of less than two years.
Delta ranks highly in prosperity index
Mass literacy:
In response to a question about the quality of education in the state, Mr. Ekedayen insisted that Delta state had become a major educational hub in the country.
He buttressed the assertion by the fact that, as of date, the state has a total of 1,200 primary schools, 498 secondary schools, five colleges of nursing, three colleges of education four state owned universities and two polytechnics.
No child of school age in Delta State that is prevented from schooling due to any failure of support policy.
Payment of bursary allowance to indigenes in tertiary institutions.
With a total of nine, Delta ranks highly among states with such number of vocational institutions.
Economy:
With a debt profile of N436billion at the inception of the current administration, the figure has been reduced drastically to N249billion.
While responding to another participant named Oghenero, Mr. Ekedayen disclosed that with the state’s monthly wage bill at N16billion and Federal Allocation averaging N40billion monthly, the state government is in full compliance with its obligation to the workers.
Agriculture and Food Security:
The Commissioner disclosed that the state had commenced massive agricultural initiatives through Public/Private/Partnerships (PPP) to ensure food security. He cited as example, a collaborative engagement with the state of Malaysia for the large scale cultivation of oil palm in the state.
The state has also signed onto the latest initiative of the Federal Government in the area of animal husbandry as a counter measure to stem the tide in Farmers/Herders clashes and the surge in violent crimes by arm-bearing Fulani pastoralists.
Mr. Ekedayen assured his audience that the Government of Sheriff Oborevwhori had instituted Farm Rangers, a security outfit to protect indigenes while on their farms.
He however, observed that even though the menace of terrorist herders was not rampant in the state, the government was equal to the task of securing the farmers.
Development of Seaports
The Commissioner informed a questioner that the Warri and Koko Ports are Federal Assets, which decisions regarding their usage are under policy oversight of the Federal Government.
Mr. Ekedayen disclosed that the two seaports are not completely idle. He said the Koko Port had been concessioned to the Koko/Kwale Free Trade Zone, with about 6-7 companies being involved.
He disclosed that the Warri port is currently underutilised based on “economic capacity.” The Commissioner revealed that Warri port may have become “a bit too shallowdue to silting, therefore requiring dredging.
“These are mere challenges that are not insurmountable,” he said.
