The Correspondents’ Chapel, Ughelli chapter of Nigeria Union of Journalists, (NUJ) Delta State Council has called on members of the Board of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), whose tenure was extended recently, to give full account of the last three years to the oil-bearing communities.
Key Highlights:
In a release after its monthly meeting of May, 2026, the Correspondents’ Chapel stated that there was a need for the affected communities to know how the board spent the 13% derivation fund accrued to the board for the past three years.
The release signed by the Chairman, Comrade Matthias Ogbagah, and Secretary, Comrade Henry Ubus, commended Governor Sheriff Oborevwori for what it described as his generosity, magnanimity in appointments, and continued funding of DESOPADEC.
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The Chapel also applauded the Delta State House of Assembly for standing firmly with the governor in governance matters.
However, the NUJ maintained that while the one-year extension of the current DESOPADEC board led by the Chairman, Chief John Nani, may have been justified on grounds of continuity, such extension must equally attract public scrutiny, accountability, and probing questions regarding the management of funds allocated to the commission from the 13% Oil Derivation Fund.
The Chapel expressed serious concern that apart from the state government and local government council-initiated projects across the state, there is a glaring absence of impactful developmental projects in oil-producing communities by DESOPADEC for the years in question.
“Where are the visible developmental projects in the oil-producing communities that justify the extension of tenure for the current governing board?”, the Journalists queried.
The Chapel further noted that there is a need for the present board to justify the extended tenure by giving a detailed account of their stewardship for the past three years.
The NUJ recalled that DESOPADEC was established under the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission Law, 2007, during the administration of former Governor James Ibori.
The Chapel stressed that Section 13(1) of the enabling law clearly mandates the Commission to receive and exclusively administer 50% of the 13% Oil Derivation Fund accruing to the Delta State Government for the sole purpose of rehabilitating, developing, and providing socio-economic amenities to oil-producing communities across the state.
The union insisted that DESOPADEC was never established as a political compensation platform for loyalists and cronies but as a strategic intervention agency meant to address decades of neglect, environmental degradation, and underdevelopment in oil-bearing communities.
The Chapel reiterated that what the people of oil-producing communities deserve at this critical time is not tenure elongation but transparency, accountability, prudent management of public resources, and visible development capable of improving the lives of the people.
