ASSESSMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS BY SHELL PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY IN EMPOWERING CLUSTER COMMUNITIES IN KOLOKUMA/OPOKUMA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF BAYELSA STATE, NIGERIA

The study assessed community development projects available by Shell petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in empowering rural dwellers in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 105 respondents. Data obtained were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings showed that road construction (m = 2.87), scholarship to youths (m = 3.39) and skill acquisition for youth (m = 2.85) were the recognized empowerment projects of SPDC. Availability of SPDC empowerment projects in the study area benefited rural dwellers in terms of provision of employment, serving as source of income, allowing them to acquire knowledge/skills, making some rural infrastructure available, enabling them become an entrepreneur and offers leadership opportunity to them. There was significant difference in the mean ratings on benefits derived by cluster communities on rural development projects. In conclusion, scholarship to youths, and skill acquisition for youth were the empowerment projects of SPDC made available to rural dwellers. The study recommended that there is need to review SPDC projects to make it more robust in providing empowerment projects such as pipe born water, building of schools, building of health centres/general health care, rural electrification, provision of vehicles for rural transportation, and provision of farm equipment which the rural dwellers in cluster communities in Kolokuma/Opukuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State could not identify as being made available to them by SPDC.