Warri, Delta – A multi-million naira Delta State Liaison Office project, stalled for five years and now overrun by vegetation, has been described as a “symbol of wasted resources and neglect” in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

The condemnation was issued on Thursday by a sociocultural organisation, the Itsekiri Environmental Protection Initiative, which demanded the immediate remobilisation of the contractor to the site.

In a statement jointly signed by its National Coordinator, Ojumude Bishop, and National Public Relations Officer, Neye Golly, the group decried the abandonment of the Ministry of Regional Development’s project located in Ajaetan Community, Ijala, Warri South Local Government Area.

According to the IEPI, the building, intended to be a key government presence, sits incomplete on 1.109 hectares of land donated by the host community.

The project had reached the roofing stage before being abandoned in 2020 when the contractor, Treapo Nigeria Limited, left during the COVID-19 lockdown.

“Today, it remains incomplete and overtaken by weeds and wildlife,” the statement lamented, noting that the abandoned government project had become a threat to sustainable development in the Niger Delta.

The group recalled that the Ministry of Regional Development, in a letter dated July 7, 2025, and signed by the Deputy Director of Housing and Urban Development, David O. Otom, had assured the community that the project would be resumed and completed “in no distant time.”

However, the IEPI stressed that such assurances now rang hollow.

“Five years after the contractor’s exit, such assurances ring hollow without clear timelines, mobilisation of workers, or evidence of renewed government commitment,” the statement read.

The organisation has now laid out clear demands for the government, including the immediate remobilisation of Treapo Nigeria Limited to the site, the publication of a specific completion schedule, and stronger collaboration with stakeholders to guarantee transparency.

“This abandoned project is a litmus test of Nigeria’s commitment to sustainable urban governance to host communities of national assets and multinationals,” IEPI said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Regional Development, formerly known as the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, has reassured the Ajaetan Community in Ijala that construction work would resume at the stalled liaison office project in due course.

The assurance was contained in a letter from the ministry, with reference number MNDA/HUD/OFF/DEL/599/11/345, addressed to the Olara-Aja (community leader) of Ajaetan, and duly signed by Mr David Olom, Deputy Director, for the Director (Housing and Urban Development).

A copy of the letter, titled “We say No to Relocation,” which was sighted by The PUNCH in Warri, on Thursday, debunked the rumour that the project was either being abandoned or relocated out of the community to another location.

The letter read, “Kindly note that the allegation is unfounded as the Ministry of Regional Development (formerly Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs) has at no time conceived the idea of relocating a project it has expended substantial funds on.

“Be assured that the ministry is in the process of resuming, continuing, and completing the construction works on the facility.”