The Delta State House of Assembly has called for more synergy between the Direct Labour Agency (DLA) and the House Committee on Works and Special Projects for better service delivery.
The Chairman House Committee on Works and Special Projects, Mr Collins Egbetamah made the call during the 2025 budget defence meeting with the management of the agency in Asaba. Egbetamah (APC-Udu), commended the agency and promised to look into their request so that the agency could realise its mandate of rehabilitation and maintenance of existing roads in the state.
He also urged DLA to work closely with the House Committee on Works for more service delivery.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the DLA is the only intervention agency established by Delta State Law to handle road maintenance and construction of smaller roads in the state.
The agency was established to function like the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA).
Earlier, the Director-General of the Agency, Chief Emmanuel Ighomena, commended the State Governor, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, for the allocation of N3.5bn in the 2025 fiscal year for the construction and maintenance of roads across the state.
Ighomena stressed the need for new roads and the rehabilitation and maintenance of existing roads in the state, which were affected by this year’s heavy rains. According to him, these roads are not limited to the Asaba metropolis and environs but are spread across the three senatorial districts of the state.
He disclosed that a few of the roads were in a deplorable state and needed urgent rehabilitation.
Ighomena commended the committee for the allocation of funds to the agency for the outgoing year and appealed for the release of the funds to enable the agency to carry out its mission. He said that the urgent rehabilitation of roads would impact the conveyance of agricultural products from the rural areas to the urban centres as well as the protection of lives and properties in the state. Ighomena reiterated that the agency had only one budget line, which according to him, had hampered the operations of the agency over the years.
He added that some essential services such as staff welfare, and training, among others, were not provided for and appealed to the committee to create a new budget line or increase the budgetary allocation of the agency.
On the budget performance for the outgoing year, Ighomena said that the sum of N2bn was approved for the rehabilitation and construction of roads for the agency.
According to him, the agency has so far received the sum of N534m, representing 26.7 per cent of the total budget.
He therefore appealed for the release of the 2024 approved budget of the agency to enable it to carry out its mandate.
