Okpalaume Mary, Sapele

The Delta State governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa has stated that a bill banning all forms of illegal collection of development levies, also known as ‘deve’ in the local parlance, by communities and area boys will be forwarded to the state House of Assembly.

The governor who condemned that the spate of illegal collection of ‘deve’ stressed that such act has hampered the spate of developement in the areas.

Okowa while disclosing this at Ugborhen, Sapele local government area of the state during the commissioning of projects built by the SEPLAT/NPDC Joint Venture lamented that ‘deve’ collection has hampered the spate of development in the communities.

The governor who had earlier inspected the completed projects of Seplat Petroleum in Ugborhen community commended the people for their continued cooperation with the company.

His words : “Illegal collection of developement levies has hampered the growth of many communities and has also increased the cost of executing projects by individuals, government and private organizations.

“We will soon send a bill to the House of Assembly to ban all forms of ‘deve’ which has impacted negatively on the cost of projects including government and private projects.

“I am glad to see partnership like this between oil prospecting companies and their host communities. The job of government will be much lighter if oil companies and communities partner in this manner to develop our communities.”