By BLESSING AGWE ODUGO

DESOPADEC Steps Up Infrastructure Drive, Sets December Deadline for Warri College Project

THE Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) is intensifying its infrastructure intervention across its mandate areas, with two ongoing projects in Warri and Agbor receiving fresh attention as the Commission moves to accelerate delivery.

The Commission’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Chief Festus Ochonogor, said the administrative block under construction at the College of Education, Warri, would be completed by December 2026.

The assurance came on Thursday 3 September 2026, when Ochonogor, accompanied by the Executive Director, Projects, Olorogun Dr. Ebenezer Okorodudu, inspected the project as part of efforts to monitor the implementation of ongoing DESOPADEC interventions.

Warri College Project Nears Completion

At the College of Education, Warri, Ochonogor said the administrative block was progressing in line with approved specifications and would be delivered within the agreed timeframe.

The project, he explained, comprises three broad components. The physical structure has been completed, while work is continuing on tiling, screeding, painting, doors and windows. Furniture installation and external works constitute the remaining major elements.

To hasten delivery, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori approved the engagement of two additional contractors to undertake the furniture and external works.

Ochonogor said the arrangement was designed to ensure that outstanding aspects of the project were handled simultaneously rather than allowing one component to delay the entire facility.

He stressed that the December deadline would not be extended.

“This is a fantastic job we are doing here. As you can see, the level of work done is according to specifications,” he said.

Beyond the physical structure, the project is expected to address a longstanding administrative challenge at the institution by providing additional office accommodation for senior officials and other administrative personnel.

According to the institution’s Head of the Department of Housing, Quantity Surveyor Williams Oyimi, the building was designed to accommodate more than 15 offices.

The facility will provide spaces for the Provost, Registrar, Deputy Provost, principal officers and other administrative sections of the college.

Infrastructure Deficit & Institutional Capacity

For the College of Education, Warri, the significance of the intervention goes beyond the completion of another public building.

Adequate administrative infrastructure is central to the effective operation of tertiary institutions. Offices provide the physical environment from which academic administration, student services, planning and institutional management are coordinated.

The Provost, Dr. Mrs. Fidelia Igrakpata, said the project would ease pressure on existing office accommodation and improve the working environment for staff.

She commended Governor Oborevwori and the DESOPADEC Board for supporting the completion of the project, while also acknowledging the contractor’s work.

Ochonogor similarly praised the contractor and said DESOPADEC would continue monitoring the project to ensure that the December target was achieved.

The Executive Director, Projects, Okorodudu, also expressed satisfaction with the progress recorded during the inspection.

He credited Ochonogor with giving the project the attention required to move it forward and commended the governor for his interest in its completion.

Agbor Area Office: Taking DESOPADEC Closer to Communities

While the Warri project focuses on strengthening an educational institution, the ongoing DESOPADEC Area Office project in Agbor is aimed at improving the Commission’s physical presence and engagement with communities in Ika South Local Government Area.

During a separate inspection on the same day, DESOPADEC Board Member representing the Ika ethnic nationality, Hon. Cosmas Igbenije, expressed satisfaction with the pace and quality of work at the project site.

Igbenije particularly commended the contractor for returning to site and resuming construction.

The DESOPADEC Site Engineer, Engr. Jude Adinkwu, assured him that the facility would be completed according to the approved specifications contained in the Bill of Engineering Measurement and Evaluation and within schedule.

For Igbenije, the project’s value lies not only in the building itself but also in what it could mean for interaction between DESOPADEC and residents of the Ika ethnic nationality.

“We cannot wait to commence engagements in this Area Office,” he said.

From Infrastructure to Community Engagement

The Agbor Area Office is expected to provide a more accessible platform through which residents can interact with DESOPADEC and engage with the Commission’s programmes.

Such decentralisation can potentially reduce the distance between development institutions and the communities they are established to serve.

Igbenije linked the intervention to the administration’s development agenda and urged eligible students of Ika ethnic nationality in tertiary institutions to register for the ongoing DESOPADEC bursary programme.

He described education as one of the most important investments a responsible institution can make in the next generation.

His inspection was his third visit to the project site since his inauguration as the Board’s representative for the Ika ethnic nationality.

Delivering Beyond Project Inspections

The two inspections point to a broader challenge in public infrastructure delivery: ensuring that approved projects move from construction sites to completed facilities that citizens can actually use.

At the College of Education, Warri, the immediate test is whether the administrative block can be furnished and completed before the December 2026 deadline.

In Agbor, the priority is to sustain construction until the Area Office is delivered and becomes an operational platform for community engagement.

For DESOPADEC, therefore, project monitoring is increasingly becoming as important as project initiation. The effectiveness of the interventions will ultimately be measured not by the number of projects inspected, but by whether completed facilities improve institutional capacity and bring development programmes closer to the communities they are intended to serve.

With the Warri administrative block approaching its final stages and the Agbor Area Office progressing towards completion, the Commission’s latest inspections underscore its stated commitment to turning infrastructure investments into functional public assets across Delta’s oil-producing areas.