The Itsekiri Regional Development Committee, IRDC, under the NNPC/Chevron Nigeria Limited JV GMoU Governance Model, on Monday August 1, signed contracts for the award of 380-meter road project at Omadino in Warri South Local Government Area, 560-meter road project at Bateren in Warri South-West Local Government Area, 140-meter road project in Tebu, Fish Market at Udo, land reclamation projects at Usor and Ureju communities, a Town Hall at Kolokolo as well as face-lift of Gbokoda Cottage Hospital/perimeter fencing and cover walk-link to all units in the Cottage hospital, all in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State.
Award of the projects, which also include 81 housing units of 1 and 2 bedroom detached bungalows, spread across 16 other communities, out of the 23 IRDC communities, came exactly 45 days after the leadership of IRDC on Friday June 17, opened bid for the new projects, encapsulating the 2021/2022 Projects’ circle of the community development committee.
The Ag. Chairman of Itsekiri Regional Development Committee, IRDC, Mr. Itse Orugbo, who spoke briefly during the contract signing ceremony/kick-off meeting held at IRDC Secretariat in Warri, Delta State, disclosed: “Today we are going to sign projects for 89 contractors. Almost 230 contractors, bid for the jobs and 89 were successful. We intend to do more contracts for the communities to benefit further. The projects being awarded, were based on demands from the benefiting communities and the contractors are indigenes”.
The Community Engagement Rep, Chevron Nigeria Limited, CNL, Mr. Femi Abode, in his remarks, appreciated the past and present leadership of IRDC, thanking them for partnering Chevron in the resolve to give better lives to people of the company’s host communities.
Mr. Abode, urged all stakeholders to be part of the transition from Itsekiri RDC to the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA implementation.
Representative of Delta State Government, Engr. Oniyeburutan A John and the Chairman, Programme and Project Review Committee, PRC of IRDC, Joseph Tester Owolo, charged successful contractors to execute the projects to specification and within the stipulated time frame, stressing that project abandonment will not be tolerated.
It was reliably gathered that contracts for the construction of a Town Hall and 2-bedroom Housing Unit at Tisun Community in Warri North Local Government Area and Concrete Walkway at Ugbeogungun in Warri South -West Local Government Area, would be awarded soonest, as part of the 2021/2022 projects’ cycle.
Ambassador Billy Ekele, who spoke on behalf of the contractors, described the bidding process as transparent, assuring: “We will do the job to specification and to the satisfaction of everyone. Payments should be made accordingly per milestone, without stress. IRDC is not a failure, the only roofs you will see in our communities, is that of IRDC, nothing from government”.
