Come to our rescue, Egbema community pleads

Women fish in a creek near the River Nun in Nigeria's oil state of Bayelsa November 27, 2012. Despite billions of dollars worth of oil flowing out of Nigeria South East, life for the majority of Niger Delta's inhabitants remains unchanged. Most people live in modest iron-roofed shacks, and rely on farming or fishing, their only interaction with the oil industry being when they step over pipelines in the swamps - or when a spill blights their landscape. Picture taken November 27, 2012. REUTERS/Akintunde Akinleye (NIGERIA - Tags: SOCIETY BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT ENERGY AGRICULTURE) ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 11 OF 29 FOR PACKAGE 'LIFE IN THE NIGER DELTA' SEARCH 'AKINTUNDE DELTA' FOR ALL IMAGES - RTR3DHPV

By Shina Badmus

A community in Egbema Kingdom, Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State known as Okifamba has over the years been neglected leading to different forms of sickness among residents, stakeholders have said.

Our reporter learnt that the sicknesses were as a result of no-functional health centre in the community. And the health centre built in 2007 by Egbema-Gbaramatu Development Commission Foundation (EGDCF), had since been swept by erosion. 

The bad ordeal was happening to Okifamba regarded as the mother village of Ogbudugbudu Clan; checks revealed that the entire clan has no healthcare centre. 

“Okifamba community doesn’t have any health center and it is affecting us,” said the Youth Chairman of Okifamba Community, Comrade Clever Jurwor Agbe. “Okifamba is the mother village to Ogbudugbudu Clan.”

Agbe went further, “We  also lack  medical facilities  for a very long time now and seriously need mobile network. Since the development of mobile network, this area of the Warri North has not been incorporated.”

Lamenting, Agbe accused oil companies operating in the Benin River of not empowering the youths of the area. He fingered Chevron which operates in OLERO FLOW STATION, as chief culprit of the alleged neglect.

Agbe however called on the government of Governor Ifenyi Okowa, EGDCF and leaders of Egbema Kingdom, to bring development to the community and also create youth empowerment programmes in the community.

“I want all stakeholders in Delta State to help bring development to our community,” Agbe pleaded.