Protesters in Burutu Local Government Area, Delta State on Wednesday escalated their demonstration by seizing the official speed boat belonging to the Council Chairman, Mr. Julius Takeme.
The action was part of an ongoing protest over the deplorable state of the council’s only government hospital and the general neglect of infrastructure in the LGA headquarters.
The protesting residents accused the chairman of poor performance and failure to fix the LGA’s sole hospital. They lamented that many residents have died due to the epileptic state of healthcare in the area.
“There are no doctors, no nurses, and no drugs. People are dying daily in Burutu because we don’t have a functional hospital,” a protest leader said.
The demonstrators also decried the lack of potable water, electricity, and other basic amenities in the council headquarters.
The protesters expressed frustration that despite the huge budgetary allocation to Burutu LGA, the situation at the headquarters is worse than in the individual villages that make up the council.
“We have received billions, yet Burutu town has no light, no water, no hospital. Our villages are even better than the headquarters,” another demonstrator stated.
After seizing the chairman’s boat, the protesters vowed to sustain the momentum until the council addresses their demands.
“We will not back down until the needful is done. We need doctors, nurses, drugs, and water for our people,” they declared.
However, the residents had called on the Delta State Government to intervene urgently to prevent further breakdown of law and order in the LGA.
While filing this press time, efforts to get a reaction from the Chairman’s office were unsuccessful.