By Amaechi Okwara
Asaba
Delta state Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, yesterday said the federal government was losing 250,000 barrels to pipeline vandals on a daily basis.
He disclosed this yesterday in Asaba during an interactive section with journalists.
Okowa, who sad over the activities of vandals in the Niger Delta region said that about 80 per cent pipeline vandalism occurred in Delta state, thereby pushing the state to fourth position in lieu of its first position occupied among the oil producing state in the country.
On agriculture, the governor said the state government had acquired over 30 hectares of land to bust food production in the state this year.
He also said the state government has engage about 5,000 youths in aqua-culture and to procure rice harvester to assist rice farmers to make the state number one in rice production.
Goveror Okowa lamented over the high wages confronting the state saying that over 7 billion was the state wage bills, thus the highest wage bill in Nigeria.
“Imagine a state that has over 1,000 primary School, 62.”
He noted that efforts were being intensified to reunite the South-south governors’ meeting (BRACED Commission) for the common good of the region, saying that two times the meetings were held in Abuja some governors were absent due to some issues.
Okowa also explained that 13% derivation was not such a huge sum of money considering the terrain of Delta state.
On the relationship with Edo state Governor, Okowa said “there is no love lost between him and the governor of Edo state, we have a cordial relationship.”
