Chairman of the Warri South Council Area, Dr Michael Tidi on Wednesday commissioned and donated a 100 sitter boat constructed by his administration to teachers and pupils in the council.
Commissioning the boat at the Warri Club Jetty, Warri Tidi said the gesture was in response to the yearning and demands of teachers, parents and pupils of the riverine communities in Warri South.
He appealed to the various communities to help maintain the boat, noting that this was the only way the government can continue to provide for them.
“As a government, especially at the grassroots level we have always responded swiftly to the yearning and plight of our people.
“Some of us who were here in this same venue some years ago, can remember that we gave out fishing boats and gears to selected communities in the riverine areas here in Warri South Local Government Area.
“That was in response to the calls and yearning of fathers , brothers and sisters who were into fishing business in our riverine communities.
He said that those boats and fishing gears that were donated to those people in the riverine areas, are still been used till today.
“This 100 seater boat we are about to commission today, is as a result of direct response to the yearning of our teachers, pupils and parents from various communities in Ode-Itsekiri.
“Remember that there were pictures and videos that were all over the internet calling on the government of the day and community leaders to respond to challenges of the students and teachers in the riverine communities. But as at when those pictures and videos were spread across the internet, this boat they you are seeing here today, was already 90 percent done.
Tidi noted that with the commissioning of the boat, all doubting Thomases who thought that he was playing politics when he promised to construct the boat, have now realized that his administration a people driven administration.
The Delta State Commissioner for Technical Education, Mrs Shola Daibo commended the administration of Dr Michael Tidi for responding to the yearnings of the people of the riverine communities in Warri South.
She said education is very important ingredient in the lives of the children, especially children living in riverine communities.
“Chairman sir, may God bless you greatly. I know you would not have achieved this without the cooperation of the leader of the legislative arm and the councillors and everybody working with you,” she said.
Chairman of Ode Itsekiri Management Committee, Anthony Odogharo, who received the boat on behalf of the teachers and students, thanked Tidi for donating the boat, saying that the gesture will alleviate the suffering of the students living in the riverine communities.
