COURTESY VISIT FROM RAMFC

ASOPADEC GM, VEN. ONYEIKE HOSTS RAMFC COMMISSIONER, CALLS FOR UPWARD REVIEW OF OIL DERIVATION FUND

The General Manager, Abia State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (ASOPADEC), Ven. (Dr.) Joshua Onyeike has called for an upward review of the oil derivation fund to enable the agency to tackle the peculiarities of problems and development needs of the oil producing communities.

Dr. Onyeike made the call when he received a delegation on courtesy visit from the Revenue Allocation Mobilization and Fiscal Commission (RAMFC) led by the Federal Commissioner representing Abia State in the Commission, Mrs. Nkechi Linda Oti noted that ASOPADEC as an interventionist Agency with the mandate of developing the oil producing areas and beyond, requires more funds to continue to complement the striving transformation efforts of Governor Alex Otti in the state.

The ASOPADEC General Manager, Venerable Onyeike describes the visit of the Federal Commissioner and her team as remarkable in the annals of the Commission's history and assured the Federal Commissioner that his Commission will leverage on her good office to better the lots of oil producing areas and other parts of the state.

He highlighted some salient achievements of the Commission under his watch to include: construction of civic centres including the befitting Asa Civic Centre, renovation and retrofitting of many public schools, reconstruction of roads, awards of scholarship to indigent students, reconstruction of market stalls, drilling of borehole projects, distribution of Agric inputs among others.

Venerable Onyeike pointed out that the Commission is committed to ensure rapid transformation of the areas in tandem with the developmental policy of Governor Alex Otti and hinted that the Commission will soon embark on rehabilitation of electricity in Asa land and training of youths in various skills while thanking Governor Alex Otti for empowering the Commission in its intervention activities.

Earlier, the leader of the delegation and Federal Commissioner representing Abia6py State in the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mrs. Nkechi Linda Otti said she came to the state to familiarize yourself with relevant stakeholders in the state government with a view to seeking collaborative effort geared towards moving the state forward.

The Federal Commissioner, while describing Governor Otti as a team player who has done well in the governance of the state, added that the Governor needs every support from her office for the overall interest of the state.

Contributing, the Director, State Office on Local Governments in the Commission, Mrs. Florence Oko and the Administrative Secretary in charge of Abia and Imo States, Mrs. Elizabeth Okafor underscored the need for a seamless working relationship between the office of the Abia representative in RMAFC and ASOPADEC and decried the low oil production in Abia which they attributed largely to acts of vandalism.

Highlight of the visit was an interactive session on the challenges of the Commission and the way forward. Management of ASOPADEC and some directors from the office of RAMFC were present at the occasion.

Iyke Onuegbu, mnipr, Chinwe Anunobi, Chijioke Igbolekwu, and Joseph Nwankwo

Information Officers, ASOPADEC