By Eseoghene Emuke
A civil society group, Niger Delta Demands Accountability (NDDA) has bemoaned the epileptic power supply in Warri, Effurun and their environs in Delta State, saying that the situation was scaring prospective investors and other business owners from the commercial nerve centre of the state.
Aside power, the group also identified deplorable roads and absence of beautification of the twin-city as the reason why the once booming economic activities in the area have nosedived in recent times.
NDDA, however, enjoined the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa-led Delta State Government to take proactive steps to salvage the present situation.
In a statement signed by the group’s coordinator and Assistant, Comrade Ochuko Agbofode and Comrade Emmanuel Akpobaro respectively, observed that the power situation in Warri and Effurun has forced many youths and artisans into criminal ventures that have resulted in increase in criminal activities in the state.
The group urged the state government to prioritize the power situation and compel the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) to step-up electricity supply to the area so as to restore economic activities to the area.
According to NDDA, “The light situation in Effurun/Warri is appalling. Total darkness on our streets is a breeder of crime. If we spend money on transformers with the efficiency of providing appropriate power supply to Effurun/Warri we would have checked out a major problem in our area.
“Solving the power issue alone is an invitation for investors to come to our region.”
They further added that the absence of electricity coupled with the high cost of generating power to run businesses and homes has forced many artisans and other youths to b e looking for shortcut to make hands meet.
On the deplorable state of roads in the area, NDDA lamented that Warri and Effurun which are the most visited cities in the state are still littered with bad roads and no clear cut on how to beautify the twin-city to encourage investors and visitors to feel comfortable.
The statement also called on the Comrade Ovuzourie Macaulay-led Warri,Uvwie and Environs Development Agency (WUEDA) to urgently swing into action and tackle the developmental challenges facing the area.
“We also need to work on our infrastructural developments and make our region investment friendly, so our indigenous investors will invest in our region.
“The roads are in terrible state. Potholes and bad drainages that stink of poor construction and abandonment are what welcome visitors to the twin-city of Warri and Effurun. As a result of bad roads, unnecessary gridlocks are seen everywhere. We need to renovate our roads and improve our road networks.
“By solving our power problems, fixing our bad roads, developing infrastructures, the businesses in our region will thrive better.
“Youths will push their entrepreneurial dreams with ease; corporate businesses will run smoothly, as well as all other forms of businesses. In the end poverty will be eradicated from the area and crime will die a natural death”, the statement added.
