Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The Federal government has gone tough with Bayelsa communities where projects are sited warning that such communities would not benefit from future projects if existing ones are vandalised.
The Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator, Heineken Lokpobiri who stated this while commissioning a shoreline protection and land-reclamation project built by the ecological funds office of the Federal government for the Aleibiri community in the Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, said communities that allowed Federal government projects to be vandalised or failed to maintain them would have themselves to blame as they would not benefit from new projects from the Federal government.
According to him communities that protect and own Federal government projects cited in their communities would surely continue to attract more government patronage of development projects.
“I have advised the beneficiaries of the projects we have commissioned today to own these projects, to take these projects as their own and if we hear that these projects are being vandalised, government will be very hesitant to provide more infrastructures for them again.”
Lokpobiri who described coastal erosion as a major challenge affecting all the communities in the state, expressed regret that because of the cost implications involved in the construction of shoreline protections in the areas, there is no way government can do all of them at the same time.
The minister who provided an insight into some of the projects disclosed that the Aleibiri shoreline project was one, out of the 16 ecological intervention projects approved by Buhari in the second quarter of 2017 for the community, which has been experiencing serious erosion and environmental degradation challenges.
He expressed optimism that the intervention project would bring huge relief to the Aleibiri community, also noting that the laudable project would set the stage for more remedial measures expected to stabilise the socio-economic wellbeing of the people.
Yusuf Aliyu Adi, Director, Coastal Management, Ecological Funds Office who represented the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) in his remarks, commended the cordial relationship that existed between the contractor, and the people, which made the completion of the project on time.
He also re-echoed Lokpobiri’s warning on Federal government projects appealing to benefiting communities to ensure proper use of the project and to desist from any forms of vandalisation that would shorten the life span of the project.