- Indigenes Will Return Home Very Soon
- As Delta Domesticates Engineering Regulations Monitoring Programme
By Sunday Egede
Delta State Government has commenced the process of rebuilding Okuama community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of the state destroyed after the unfortunate killing of 17 Army officers and soldiers in the community.
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori disclosed this when he played host to the leadership of Urhobo Council of Traditional Rulers, led by its Chairman and Ovie of Uvwie Kingdom, HRM, Emmanuel Sideso Abe 1, and the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) Worldwide, led by its President-General, Chief Ese Gam, at Government House, Asaba, yesterday.
Oborevwori expressed appreciation to the Urhobo traditional rulers for visiting and donating food and relief materials to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of Okuama community.
He said the state government had awarded contracts for the construction of a health centre and six classroom blocks for Primary and Secondary Schools in Okuama community, adding that the IDPs would soon return to their ancestral community. “I am happy to receive Your Royal Majesties and the leadership of UPU this afternoon. I am happy in the sense that you all stood by me and supported me to be Governor and I thank God today that your son is the Governor of Delta State.
“I want to appreciate the role that you people have played and all other things you people have been doing. The last Local Government election was very peaceful. This is because of the fatherly role you people have played and the support you have been giving to this administration.
“I want to also thank you people for your visit to the Okuama IDPs camp and also the visit to Okuama village. It is not a place to go by car; you went in a boat and also gave them relief materials.
“We are doing our best to make sure that peace returns to that place. We established the IDPs camp, awarded the contracts for the health center and six classroom blocks for primary and secondary schools to be built. The contracts were even awarded to Okuama indigenes.
“Very soon, they will return to Okuama. I want to continue to count on your cooperation and support. You people are our fathers and should continue to advise us.
“The traditional rulers have a big role to play to curb the pockets of insecurity happening recently here and there. We need information to arrest this situation and that is where you come in. You are to help security agencies by giving them information. “We are doing our best; I want to assure Deltans that we are working hand – in – hand with security agencies to ensure that the state is peaceful,” the governor said.
Earlier, Sideso, who was represented by the Vice Chairman of the Council and Ovie of Arhavwarien Kingdom, HRM Solomon Okukeren III, said they visited to appreciate and intimate the Governor on certain issues affecting the Urhobo nation and Delta State in general.
The Urhobo monarchs, while appreciating Oborevwori for the remarkable work he had accomplished thus far as Governor of Delta State in the last one year, commended him for the resolution of the age-long crisis between Aladja and Ogbe-Ijoh communities as well as the Okuama and Okoloba crisis.
… As Delta Domesticates Engineering Regulations Monitoring Programme
Meanwhile, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, yesterday, said the state had domesticated the Engineering Regulations Monitoring Programme for the enhancement of quality job delivery in the state.
Governor Oborevwori said that with the successful domestication, the state had created the State Technical Committee and Delta State Expatriate Monitoring Committee, in accordance with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering (COREN) Act to monitor the quality of jobs.
Governor Oborevwori disclosed this while playing host to the President and Chairman of Council of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Engr. Margaret AinaOguntala and her delegation at Government House, Asaba.
While congratulating Oguntala, the 34th President and first female President of the NSE, Oborevwori remarked that the engineering profession in Nigeria had witnessed remarkable progress in the last two decades.
“In Delta State, we have since domesticated the Engineering Regulations Monitoring Programme with the creation of the State Technical Committee and Delta State Expatriate Monitoring Committee in accordance with the COREN Act to monitor the quality of jobs.
“I believe that the Engineering Regulations Monitoring Programme will strengthen the existing quality control mechanism and boost the practice of Engineering in the state. “It might also interest you to know that we have a policy of regularly organising training and special courses for engineers in the State Civil Service to update their knowledge and skills on a continual basis.
“We believe in capacity, hence we appoint qualified Engineers into the positions of Director and Permanent Secretary in relevant fields.
“The engineering profession in Nigeria has witnessed remarkable progress in the last two decades and I am proud to say that our local engineers can hold their own against their foreign counterparts.
“This administration has zero tolerance for sub-standard jobs and that is why we brought in a competent company as Julius Berger Plc to execute three flyovers, a cloverleaf, pedestrian bridges and road expansion projects in the Warri and Effurun metropolis,” he added.
Earlier, Engr. Oguntala had lauded Governor Sheriff Oborevwori for the development strides of his administration, adding that they were in the state for the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the society.
Oguntala stressed the need for the state government to sustain its capacity – building efforts for Engineers in the state through dedicated training programmes in order to enhance their skills and expertise, adding that the NSE was well positioned to partner the government vis-a-vis training and re-training programmes for Engineers in the state.
While applauding the governor for his approval of Grade Level Nine ( GL 9) entry point for Engineers in Delta State Civil Service, she said qualified Engineers should be appointed to head engineering – related Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the state.
“The implementation of an enhanced salary scale for Engineers further underscores your administration’s dedication to promoting an environment where engineering professionals can thrive and contribute meaningfully to the growth of the state.
“In alignment with our mission to contribute to the nation’s development, the NSE is poised to develop the ‘Delta State Engineering Index and Infrastructure Scorecard 2024/2025’. This comprehensive document would assess the current state of infrastructure in the state and provide strategic recommendations for future budgeting and improvements,” she stated.
While inviting the governor to the 2024 Engineering Conference of the Society, Engr. Oguntala appealed to him to facilitate the participation of at least 200 Delta State Engineers by sponsoring their attendance to the Engineering Conference.
