Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Delta State Council, Comrade Churchill Oyowe, has lauded the development strides of Rt. Hon. Victor Asasa’s administration in Isoko South Local Government Council, particularly for lighting up all communities in the area.
Comrade Oyowe made the remark when he led the NUJ Delta State Working Committee on a courtesy visit to the Chairman in his office in Isoko south local government council headquarters Thursday.
In his opening, Comrade Oyowe explained that the visit was partly aimed at assessing and evaluating the veracity of reported performance and recorded achievements trending in the media.
Harping on the importance and essence of local government administration, he said that the constitutional role of the NUJ was to act as a watchdog and hold government and public office-holders accountable to the people who elected them in trust, especially at the grassroots.
The NUJ chairman observed that the Isoko South chairman had indeed recorded remarkable achievements within his three years in office.
Oyowe noted that his ingenuity in the area of provision of solar-powered streetlights in virtually all communities in the Isoko South Local Government Area was worthy of emulation.
He also praised the solar power initiative at the local government secretariat, saying that it was a smart idea in reducing cost of governance in the face of rising prices of fuel products.
Other areas of the Victor Asasa administration’s intervention include the construction of markets, healthcare, roads, security, health, environmental sanitation, and agriculture.
He appreciated the chairman and his management team for delivering the dividends of democracy to the people and urged him to do more, even as he expressed hope he would return for another term to do more.
In his welcome, Rt. Hon. Asasa said that the council was challenged by the paucity of funds but he had been able to manage the scarce resources out of his passion for improving the welfare of the people and the infrastructure he met on the ground.
He listed projects executed by his administration to include renovation of Oleh Main Abattoir, renovation of the Divisional Police Officer’s (DPO) official quarters, and provision/distribution of knapsack weed control equipment to 200 farmers in the area.
On local security, Asasa said that the council inaugurated a security network known as “Isoko South Neighborhood Watch” involving the Nigeria security agencies and other stakeholders in the community to ensure the safety of lives and property.
Still, on security, Asasa said that he provided temporary accommodation, furniture, a generating set, and a refrigerator to the 181 Amphibious Battalion of the Nigeria Army, Oleh as well as the provision of burglary proofs and furniture to the Nigerian Immigration Service.
Also, he said that a solar inverters-powered system was installed in the Local Government Council Secretariat three years ago to control the challenge of power supply.
In the aspect of environmental sanitation/waste management, Asasa said that the council purchased a waste disposal truck; a regular de-silting of drains, and set up a waste management control consultancy unit to prevent indiscriminate dumping of waste.
On health, he established functional primary healthcare centres and introduced free medical outreach programs to people in the interior areas that are inaccessible to healthcare, while setting up a sick bay inside the council secretariat.
Other provisions by the Asasa administration included furniture for primary schools in the area, renovation of Oleh Market Lock-up Shops, generating funds to
revamp basic facilities/amenities in the council secretariat, welfare for staff and other stakeholders in the area, reconciliation, and peace building.
