23rd December, 2015
Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has put smiles on the faces of pensioners this Christmas as he has directed that N2 billion through the contributory pension scheme be released for payment to them.
The Commissioner for Finance in the state, Olorogun David Edevbie made the disclosure on Wednesday at a briefing after the executive council meeting presided over by the state Governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa.
Also at the press briefing, which was coordinated by the Commissioner for Information, Mr Patrick Ukah, were the Commissioners for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr Chiedu Ebie; the Commissioner for Works, Chief James Augoye; and that of Energy, Barr. Newworld Safugha.
According to Edevbie about six states were working with the contributory pension scheme and the Delta State government believes that it was a good platform to take care of the pensioners.
While declining to state how much the state was indebted to the pensioners as there were efforts to get the accurate figures, Edevbie said Governor Okowa was aware of the plight of the pensioners and was working to entrench a culture of paying the pensioners as at when due.
The Commissioner for Works at the occasion disclosed that Governor Okowa’s administration has awarded 48.8 kilometres of roads and that the contractors have been given 25 per cent of the contract sums as mobilization.
While stating that the contractors have gone to site, Chief Augoye disclosed that some of the roads would be completed by March next year and work will commence at others in January.
According to him, the Direct Labour Agency (DLA) would not observe the Christmas break as they are working assiduously to ensure that the roads are free of potholes.
At the briefing, the Commissioner for Energy, Newworld Safugha said the Delta State Government has opted for the public power supply to power the street lights, disclosing that while “the transformer powered street light takes about N10 million monthly as running cost, the alternate option of using generator costs the state government N74 million monthly.
“The good news today is that the street lights are back and it has given a boost to night life in Asaba. The Governor directed that we should use public power supply instead of generator because, we found out that the cost of running the generator-powered street lights was very high,” he said, adding, “efforts are being made to power street lights in Warri, Oghara, Ughelli and other major cities; and for the first time after several years, Ibusa community has been connected to the national grid and I can assure you that other communities around the state capital will definitely enjoy light as soon as possible.”
Mr Ukah at the occasion, urged journalists to always verify their facts and thanked them for their objectivity in writing stories about the government and the people of Delta State.