Oritsegbubemi Omatseyin
Senator Dickson, representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District, spoke at Ayakoro community, Ogbuku’s hometown in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, during the 2024 edition of the community’s annual cultural festival, the Eyal Obeyin.
He noted that the developmental footprints recorded by Ogbuku in the community speak volumes of the benefits of having a son who knows what to do and urged states in the Niger Delta region to partner with the NDDC to fast-track the development of the oil-rich region.
Dickson said he was impressed with the performance of the NDDC under the leadership of Ogbuku, noting that the Managing Director and his team have demonstrated capacity and love for the Niger Delta region in terms of project execution and policy implementation.
He declared: “The NDDC under the stewardship of Dr Samuel Ogbuku is doing well. Ogbuku and his team are carrying out the mandate of the NDDC meritoriously well. I want to thank Ogbuku for remembering that he came from a place. The projects I’ve seen in this community and other parts of the Niger Delta, including my home town, especially the solar-powered lights and others clearly show that Ogbuku knows where he came from. It shows that he’s completely linked with his people at home.”
In his keynote address, Dr Ogbuku, who was the Special Guest of Honouir, said the development imprints etched in the community were made possible by the peaceful nature of the people of Ayakoro who created the enabling environment for contractors to work without creating unnecessary levies which were not included in the contracts.
He stated that peace and development go together and advised communities in the Niger Delta region to cooperate with contractors to work while assuring that the NDDC would not allow contractors to deny communities of their rightful benefits.
Ogbuku said the commission under his stewardship was committed to ensuring that projects awarded and executed by the Commission have direct impacts on the benefiting communities.
He said the era of stalled projects was over, noting however, that the Commission would no longer condone a situation where communities act as encumbrances to contractors handling NDDC projects in their areas.
He said: “Ayakoro is a very peaceful community, and so here, projects are flourishing. There’s never been any encumbrance to any project awarded here. My advice to communities is that they should be peaceful and cooperate with contractors executing projects in their area.”
Ogbuku promised to support the Eyal Obeyin Annual Festival to promote tourism development in the community and the entire Niger Delta.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Paramount Ruler of Ayokoro, HRH Righteous Inegbagha, commended the founding fathers and the present generation of the community for their resilience and dedication to the growth and development of the community.
He remarked that the Eyal Obeyin Annual Festival was celebrated annually to recognise and appreciate the efforts of the Founding Fathers who accomplished the resettlement of the people of Ayokoro from the old settlement on a badly eroded site to the present location on 12th February, 1958.
