16-03-01 A $ 100 mm major road project designed to traverse over 12 major towns and communities in Bayelsa state will soon take off as part of the development programmes being packaged for oil producing communities in the Niger Delta by Shell in Nigeria. Oloibiri community, the first place where crude oil was found in Nigeria in the 1950s but which has allegedly remained very impoverished over the decades is one of the benefiting communities.
Shell's General Manager in charge of community development, Mr. Hubert Nwokolo, gave the hint while reacting to discussants' contributions during group discussions at the international workshop on the Niger Delta. Vanguard gathered that the project which is the largest ever to be embarked upon by an oil company in the Niger Delta will link most of the major communities and towns in the state.

The road will traverse Yenagoa -- Imirimgi -- Kolo town -- Ogbia -- Olobiri -- Nembe -- Idema -- Kugbo -- Amoroto -- Okobia -- Akipelai. Nwokolo who was explaining a point on alleged failure of the Anglo-Dutch oil firm to adequately develop the oil producing areas lamented the failure of the defunct OMPADEC and the appropriate authorities to develop the road.
He said: "We are compelled to embark on the project because they failed to do what they should do. "We have to do the road if we want to produce crude oil in the state and that is the truth", he posited. Over 30 bridges (major and minor) will be constructed along the road.
The managing director of Shell in Nigeria, Mr. Ron van den Berg, had told the participants during the opening ceremony of the workshop that "we also have pursued our goal to contribute to and facilitate community development programme in the region and the joint venture community development spending increased from $ 52 mm in 1999 to $ 60 mm in 2000."