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By Amos Odhe, Yenagoa
The Kolo Creek Cluster Development Board, KCDB, an SPDC funded cluster in the Ogbia council area of Bayelsa State, have lauded the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, SPDC, on its execution of projects and implementation of terms entered in its GMoU with community members of the cluster board.
KCDB’s chairman, Barr. Ebelema Danadana, gave the commendation in Elebele community while speaking with newsmen during an inspection tour of ongoing projects by the cluster board.
Danadana noted that the multinational oil company had done well in the four cluster member-communities of Elebele, Otuasega, Imiringi and Yibama (Oruma).
He said through the model adopted by the cluster board in the execution of projects, SPDC has made commendable progress in the timely release of funds for projects by the board.
The cluster chairman said upon assumption of office in 2019, the KCDB executive under his leadership resolved the bottlenecks hitherto impeding development in communities of the cluster, adding that there are now projects simultaneously ongoing in each community of the cluster.
“In this cluster board we’ve been able to put all problems aside,we’re executing projects and programmes in all the member communities of the Kolo Creek cluster development board.
“In all the four member communities of Elebele, Otuasega, Imiringi and Yibama (Oruma), apart from various infrastructural projects, we’re also developing manpower through scholarship schemes. We’ve also been gender sensitive by ceding to women a certain percentage of projects for their empowerment.
“We commend the SPDC for the timely release of funds for the board which has made it easy for the execution of all the projects we’re seeing in the member communities of the cluster”, he added.
Danadana noted that “The concrete roads, markets, flood protection embarkments, the various town halls, corpers lodges and even the hospitals in some of the communities of the cluster board were all executed by the SPDC.”
Meanwhile, the Kolo Creek Cluster Development Board has taken a swipe at the Nigerian Agip Oil Company, NAOC, “for the absence of any project in the area despite having some of its major facilities in the domain.”
The cluster described the oil company as insensitive to the plight of the people, given the health and environmental hazards associated with its exploration and exploitation activities, adding that despite various emissaries of the communities to NAOC, the oil major has not yielded to the demands of its host communities.
“Aside those areas where Agip has its major facilities in Bayelsa State, communities of Kolo Creek serve as the second highest area where Agip pipelines and other infrastructure are located,
“But even the gas turbine built here in Elebele by this company to service the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, headquarters in Yenagoa doesn’t give any of the communities here power.
“But because we’re peace loving people, we’ve been over-looking them. No vandalism of their equipment, nothing happening to their facilities partly due to our peaceful disposition as host communities”, the cluster boss said.
He reiterated the fact that the progress and development in the cluster “can also be traced to a leadership style worthy of emulation,” adding that unlike most Bayelsa communities where their paramount rulers and Community Development chairmen relocate to Yenagoa, in KCDB’s case, all of them reside in their domain.
“As you can see our paramount rulers, CDC and all of us live at home and this also makes Elebele one of the most peaceful communities, devoid of youth restiveness and cultism; and why going to Yenagoa when we have social amenities available here”
