From Tayese Mike, Yenagoa

The Kolo Creek Cluster Development Board (KCDB), an SPDC funded cluster in the Ogbia council area of Bayelsa state have lauded the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) for the execution of projects and the implementation of terms entered in their GMoU with community members of the cluster board.

The chairman of  KCDB, Barr.

Danadana noted that the multinational oil company has done well in the four cluster member communities of Elebele, Otuasega, Imiringi and Yibama (Oruma), respectively.

He said through the model adopted by the cluster board in the execution of projects, SPDC has made commendable progress in the timely release of funds for projects by the board.

The cluster chairman said upon  assumption of office in 2019,the  executive of the KCDB under his leadership have resolve the bottlenecks hitherto impeding development in communities of the cluster, saying that there are now ongoing projects simultaneously in each community of the board.

“In this cluster board we’ve been able to put all problems aside, we’re executing projects and programmes in all the member communities of the kolo creek cluster development board”, he said.

“In all the four member communities of Elebele, Otuasega, Imiringi and Yibama (Oruma) apart from various infrastructural projects, we’re also developing manpower through scholarship schemes.

“We’ve also been gender sensitive by ceding to women a certain percentage of projects for their empowerment.

“We commend the SPDC for the timely release of funds for the board which has made it easy for the execution of all the projects we’re seeing in the member communities of the cluster.

“The concrete roads, markets, flood protection embankment’s the various town halls, corpers lodges and even the hospitals in some of the communities of the cluster board were all executed by the SPDC”, he noted.

Meanwhile, the Kolo creek cluster development board has also taken a swipe on the Nigerian Agip oil company, NAOC for the absence of any project in the area despite having some of its major facilities in their domain.

The cluster described the oil company as insensitive to the plights of the people, owing to the health and environmental hazards associated with the exploration and exploitation activities, adding that upon various emissaries of the communities to NAOC,the oil major has not yielded to the demands of its host communities.

“Aside those areas where Agip has major of its facilities in Bayelsa state, communities of Kolo creek serve as the second highest area where Agip pipelines and other infrastructure were located,

“But even the gas turbine built here in Elebele by this company to service the Nigerian content development and monitoring board, NCDMB headquarters in Yenagoa doesn’t give any of the communities here power,

“But because we’re peace loving people, we’ve been overlooking them. No vandalism of their equipment, nothing happening to their facilities partly due to our peaceful disposition as host communities”, the cluster boss said.

He also reiterated the fact that the progress and development in this cluster can also be traced to the leadership style worthy of emulation, adding that unlike most Bayelsa communities where their paramount rulers and Community Development chairman relocated to Yenagoa, but in their own case, all of them reside at their domain .

” As you can see our paramount rulers, CDC and all of us leave at home and this also make Elebele one of the most peaceful communities devoid of youth restiveness and cultism and why going to Yenagoa when we have social amenities available here”, “, he added.