Residents of Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State have staged a protest over what they described as the failure of the local council to provide basic amenities and address the deteriorating state of healthcare in the area.
As part of the protest, the demonstrators seized the official speedboat belonging to the council chairman, Julius Takeme, demanding urgent action to improve living conditions in the local government area.
The protesters accused the council administration of neglecting the area’s only government hospital, alleging that the facility lacks doctors, nurses, drugs and other essential medical supplies.
“There are no doctors, no nurses and no drugs. People are dying daily in Burutu because we don’t have a functional hospital,” a resident said.
Another resident alleged that people had died because of inadequate access to drugs and water, despite what the protesters described as significant allocations to the local government.
The demonstrators also complained about the lack of potable water, electricity and other basic infrastructure at the council headquarters.
“We have received billions, yet Burutu town has no light, no water, no hospital. Our villages are even better than the headquarters,” one of the protesters said.
The residents vowed to continue the demonstration until their demands were addressed, particularly the deployment of medical personnel, provision of drugs and improvement of water and other essential services.
They also called on the Delta State Government to urgently intervene and prevent further escalation of the situation in the local government area.
Efforts to obtain a reaction from the council chairman’s office were unsuccessful. However, an aide reportedly said the chairman might be awaiting a directive from Governor Sheriff Oborevwori.
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