Emma Amaize
14 August, Sweetcrude, WARRI- KANTU, an oil-rich community in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State, weekend, warned the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, and disgruntled politicians to desist from using it as “a dumping ground for shadow projects designed to siphon public funds”.
Chairman of the Movement for the Survival of Kantu People, MSKP, Reverend Jolly Mayomi in a press statement said, “All those involved and DESOPADEC in particular should explain as a matter of exigency what has transpired in respect of the housing units allocated to Kantu community for which the contractor had been partly paid but nothing has been built”.
He said that DESOPADEC had not done anything in the community since its inception in 2007 and also challenged a lawmaker in the Delta State House of Assembly the claim he made during a visit to the Olere-aja of Kantu before the last general elections.
His words, “During the lawmaker’s visit to the Olere-aja of Kantu community shortly before the last general elections, he said that he has approval of two projects fully paid for in Kantu community, but surprisingly, there is nothing on ground in this community to confirm his claim”.
Reverend Mayomi, a prominent member of the Kantu community council of elders called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and ICPC to investigate the matter.
Efforts by Vanguard to get the lawmaker proved abortive as the text message and several calls to his GSM phone by this reporter was not responded to, while an official of DESOPADEC, who was contacted, said due to the recent administrative changes in organization, it was not possible to get any officer to specific comments on the Kantu housing project.
