WUEDA: CHANGING THE UGLY NARRATIVES OF WARRI/UVWIE AND ENVIRONS, The Okowa Initiative

Nosa Akenzua, Asaba

The pragmatic initiative by the Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa-led Peoples Democratic Party, PDP administration in the establishment of the Warri-Uvwie and Environs Special Area Development Agency, WUEDA is progressively creating impact in the economic nerve centre of the oil-rich state in clear departure from the past.

WUEDA, a brainchild of the governor’s ingenuity led by seasoned administrator, has embarked aggressively on serious clean up exercise barely few months after creation, giving the areas of its mandate major facelift.

This laudable initiative by the governor who has bias for massive development across  all divides as part of his SMART AGENDA indicates that he is a governor with great vision for meaningful development of the state, which obviously is paying off with the people being better for it.

Led by the Director General, DG, Warri-Uvwie and Environs Special Area Development Agency, Comr. Ovuozourie Macaulay, former Secretary to the State Government, SSG in the immediate past administration, a veteran journalist, he pioneered the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ and the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC both in the State as well as Directorate of Inter-Ethnic Matters and Conflict Resolution.

Macaulay, held a lot of key positions in the corridors of power in the State, and has acquired great wealth of experience; little wonder he was chosen by the SMART Governor Okowa to direct affairs of the agency, and he has assured the people categorically that he is not here to play politics, that his task is clear and simple, to restore cleanliness and development to Warri, Uvwie and its environs, which he has proven within a very short time while he mulls on the quickest ways through which the clean-up exercise and several development initiatives could automatically change the face of the operational areas of the agency.

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Before the birth of WUEDA by this administration, Warri, Uvwie and environs were overgrown by bush and heap of dungs filth littered every nooks and crannies of both Warri and Uwvie metropolis, while residents dump refused on road median with consequences for their actions, but all these have become things of the past.

Going through the popular NPA Express Way from the New Port area through the Army Barracks Effurun, serious clean-up has been done, and work is still progressively ongoing.  This clean-up exercise has made the environment more attractive and appealing to behold.

This is coupled with road constructions and  maintenance carried out in the area by the State Government, which no doubt will attract more developments to the area with a value of increasing socio-economic activities of the people thereby enhancing their economic wellbeing.

More so, outside the development that will be attracted to the area due to the clean-up exercise that is still ongoing by WUEDA and the improvement of the environment so far, it will positively change the mindset of the people, and reawaken their consciousness towards the need for maintaining  a clean environment, which will in turn restore the lost glory of Warri, Uvwie and Environs and uphold her position as the commercial capital of the State.

Ultimately, the Macaulay-led agency’s activities will obviously impact on the environment in terms of cleanliness and the health of the inhabitants of the mandate areas. There will be less cases of cholera and other avoidable health related issues as well in those areas.

There is no doubt as to how Warri-Uvwie and Environs had experience epileptic infrastructure and neglect since the relocation of some of the multinational oil companies to Lagos, Port Harcourt, and other States of the Federation, but since the commencement of the clean-up exercise by the agency there has been great improvement on the environment, and it’s beginning to show that Warri, Uvwie and environs is gradually coming up, and in no time with the speed of progress of work going on by WUEDA, the twin cities and environs will surely catch up with the standard of other cities like Calabar, Uyo, Lagos etc.

According to the DG who is bent on changing the orientation of the people to fit into the new realities, “I have the mandate to change the ugly narratives of Warri, Uwvie and Environs from a city of filths to a modern filth free metropolis and that we shall achieve.”

The clean-up exercise which will be systematic and sustainable, asserted by the DG is a sign of warning to the people especially owners of caravans and illegal structures along major streets of Warri, Uvwie and environs to immediately relocate, because the Agency would stop at nothing to ensure that such structures are pulled down by its task force, which similar operation is also carried out in the State Capital by the Delta State Capital Territory Development Agency.

The impact of the clean-up exercise so far has started yielding commendations from the public, a clear scenario was during one of the days when work was ongoing along the NPA Expressway, an Army General in Warri passing by, saw the improvement of work going on, stop and alighted from his car and approached the working team and stated thus; “I cannot believe this can happen in Warri, Uvwie and environs, this is really a remarkable initiative.

28th March 2024
Nigerian Pantagraph
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