•Inaugurates Isoko chapter
By Sunday Apah
Special Correspondent, Ughelli
Oil and gas stakeholders group, Host Communities of Nigeria (HOSTCOM), has called on the Delta State governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, to include the interest of the group in the state’s policies and programmes. State Chairman of the group, Dr Peter Egedegbe, made the appeal during the inauguration of the Isoko ethnic nationality chapter of the group led by Comrade Morrister Idibra, recently.
He lamented that the governor was not identifying well enough with the group despite being their grand patron. Inaugurating the chapter executive of which members were elected on September 29, 2013 at Otoigho in Owhe Clan, Egedegbe also called on Governor Uduaghan to ensure that projects allotted to communities in DESOPADEC budgets get to the communities that they were budgeted for. Moreover, he urged the state government to ensure that HOSTCOM is allowed a statutory provision in the appointment of board members in the state oil commission. “DESOPADEC was established because of the agitations of HOSTCOM so also was NDDC as such we should be allowed a statutory provision in appointment and project placement in the commission”, Egedegbe said. “We are calling on the state government to ensure that all policies and programme are struggle for the minds of men.” According to him, the mind-set that got them agitating for the establishment of DESOPADEC was for the overall benefit of the host communities and not for any individual.
“This is why we are saying government should subtly incorporate HOSTCOM in its policies and programme so that we would courageously agitate to the federal government for a genuine demand that would progressively transform and improve the living standards of our people”, he added.
Also at the Oleh Civil Centre, venue of the inauguration, Chairman of the occasion, High Chief Amadhe Iduh, expressed concern that HOSTCOM was no longer viable as it used to be and therefore charged the national body of the group to oil its machinery so that they can effectively agitate and attract government presence to the oil producing communities.
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