Obio-Akpor set for economic summit
Obio/Akpor Local Government Council in Rivers State has prepared a summit to boost its economy and create jobs for the people. The Chairman, Dr. Gift Worlu, spoke when officials of
Obio/Akpor Local Government Council in Rivers State has prepared a summit to boost its economy and create jobs for the people.
The Chairman, Dr. Gift Worlu, spoke when officials of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Rivers State Council, visited him.
Worlu lamented that despite the presence of many higher institutions of learning and multinational oil companies in the area, the people of the council were still suffering from abject poverty and unemployment.
He said while the people were battling with industrial wastes discharged by companies operating in the local government, others from outside the council were benefitting from contracts and supplies.
He said: “Consciously, where do we stay to discuss how we can make people to be more economically viable? No where. In Obio/Akpor now for example, there are many institutions of learning. We have so many companies; multi-billion Naira companies operating in Obio/Akpor.
“Why should we still have poor people; people who don’t have employment and means of livelihood in Obio/Akpor Local Government? If it is other places where these things don’t exist, maybe, we will understand. Not here.
“We have sons and daughters of Obio/Akpor and other residents who are supposed to have employment. Why should our people not have jobs? Which people are doing the contracts in those companies? Which people are doing the supplies in those companies?
“So, we are here and the companies are here with us. If it is an oil company, when they discharge their wastes, we are the ones that suffer it. When they want something supplied, the supplier will be from another place. They will supply it here and take the money away. It doesn’t make sense. Even little contracts like consumables, they don’t give them to our people.
“Our people are just there, turning to beggars, turning to ‘agberos’ and all that. So that meeting is for all of us; the media, the lecturer, the security man, the company executive.
“All of us need to sit down there and begin to address our issues. Obio/Akpor is a cosmopolitan town. But do we have a proper fire service here? The answer is no. Do we have a proper sanitation system? The answer is no.”
NUJ Chairman Comrade Paul Bazia hailed Worlu for embarking on programmes and policies with direct impact on the people of Obio/Akpor Council.
