Warri Community protests Okowa’s closure of UNDP skills’ acquisition centre

Hundreds of Egbokodo Itsekiri indigenes in Warri South Local  Government Area of Delta State on Tuesday October 17, took to the street in protest against Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s  prolonged closure of the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, funded multi-million naira state –of-the-art skills’ acquisition centre for over two years running, Fresh Angle International can authoritatively report.

The centre which is situated in Egbokodo with world class equipment was managed by UNOP.

Our Correspondent reports that the protesters, including old and young natives carried placards with inscriptions such as “Okowa open our school”, “Okowa continue with the legacy of Governor Uduaghan” and  “We need the training to survive in the current economy”, were led by Egbokodo Community Public Relations Officer, Hon. Mike O. Ewetan  and an elderly female, Madam Elizabeth Omase.

The Community Image Maker explained that several efforts by them, including meeting with the Delta State Commissioner of Economic Planning, Dr. Kingsley Emu, whose office oversees the running of the skill acquisition centre yielded no fruitful result.

Mr. Ewetan disclosed further that the community is pained because “no tertiary institution in the country can boast of the facilities in the school that admits students from all the twenty-five local government of Delta State without discrimination” adding that they have been providing security for the facilities at great cost.

Madam Omase said she joined the multitude to protest out of pain and love for the education of their jobless youths roaming without any skills, saying that “hand work is now the in-thing in the absence of white collar job”.   

Both speakers said the peaceful protest is to draw the attention of Governor Okowa to the plight of the community, noting that students who have completed their fourteen months of training are yet to be issued certificate of proficiency.

While calling on their state assembly representatives to impress on the Governor to fulfill his obligation towards the smooth running of the training centre by meeting its counterpart funding, they appealed to Okowa to take immediate steps that will ensure the re-opening of the school.

The abandoned UNDP Training Centre, Egbokodo

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