Asasa, who is gunning for a second term in office, has been described by residents as an "absentee" chairman who only comes to the office when monthly allocations come as well as when the state governor, deputy governor, Speaker of the House of Assembly or top government officials are visiting the local government for official engagements.
Residents of Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State have berated the council chairman, Victor Asasa, over a dilapidated road in Oleh and other failed projects in the council area.
Asasa, who is gunning for a second term in office, has been described by residents as an "absentee" chairman who only comes to the office when monthly allocations come as well as when the state governor, deputy governor, Speaker of the House of Assembly or top government officials are visiting the local government for official engagements.
Speaking to SaharaReporters, a resident in Oleh who simply identified himself as Oghenemaro Odhe, lamented the bad state of the popular Ogbemudia Road in Oleh and criticised the council chairman for his inability to carry out temporary repairs on the failed portion of the road.
He said, "You see that Ogbemudia Road is one of the oldest roads in Oleh and Isoko South executed by the then Ogbemudia administration in the defunct Bendel State and Asasa allowed such a road to deteriorate to this stage without carrying out temporary repairs on it.
“Asasa’s three years in office is nothing to write home about. The majority of the projects he claimed to have executed were fake while others failed a few months after execution. Yet he has recruited persons who are already campaigning for his second tenure when he does not stay in office, and when he has failed in the area of delivery of dividends of democracy to the people of Isoko South.
"Asasa claimed to have installed solar lights at the Yanga Evening Market, Oleh and Irri Evening Market and as we talk, there is no sign of such. The lights beaming on Yanga Evening Market and Irri Evening Market were done by a young man called Andrew.
“If you go around villages where Asasa claimed to have executed projects, you will be shocked to see nothing is working. Some of the projects he managed to execute have since collapsed after a few months. The paid agents clamouring for Asasa's second tenure do not mean well for the people of Isoko South. Asasa should leave after his first tenure and face his private business in Port Harcourt."
Also reacting to the dilapidated Ogbemudia Road, an indigene of Oleh, Morrison Igelige, described the road as a death trap to users, adding that Asasa is a complete failure.
He said, "The Ogbemudia Road is a serious death trap that needs urgent attention before any accident will happen there. If Asasa does not take urgent steps now, that road will consume lives mostly those who don’t understand the terrain.
“The local government chairman is a complete failure to the Isoko South people, even in the area of the electricity challenges being faced by residents of Oleh, the headquarters of Isoko South and its environs. Asasa is a total failure and does not deserve a second tenure for a minute."
Some councillors of the Isoko South legislative arm who spoke under the condition of anonymity described the council chairman as the “worst thing that ever happened to the people”.
They condemned his “regular absenteeism from office” since he became the chairman.
In 2021, the council chairman was the subject of public criticism for parading a set of refurbished furniture and a renovated toilet as well as donations to an orphanage and hospital as his achievements after spending 100 days in office.
In 2022, councillors had a face-off with the chairman and accused him of illegally awarding N4 million contract for the printing of calendars and monthly imprests to his wife without approval from the legislative arm.
According to the councillors, the contract was not worth more than N200,000.
Efforts to reach Asasa on his mobile line failed as he did not answer calls from our correspondent. He also did not reply to messages sent to him.