Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has flayed the Niger Delta Development Commission, over absence of people oriented big ticket projects initiated and completed by the agency in the region, despite the huge funds sunk into the Commission.
To this end, the governor has urged the Commission to collaborate with the state governments in the region in executing big-ticket and legacy projects that will impact on the lives of the people.
The Governor spoke while receiving the NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, the Bayelsa State representative on the Governing Board of the NDDC, Senator Denyanbofa Dimaro, the Executive Director, Projects, Mr. Charles Ogunmola and other directors of the Commission in Yenagoa, the state capital.
He said his own big-ticket projects in the state were located in the three senatorial districts of the state,
“We all want to leave legacies in places where we work. I lend my hands of support to you and the board of the NDDC.
“We have started the Nembe-Brass Road because of its importance. Such projects will save us from the kind of boat mishap that occurred recently. We want the NDDC to collaborate with us on the road.”
Governor Diri charged the NDDC to fully activate the Advisory Council of the Commission to effectively give a voice to the governors who are members and avoid duplication of projects, and also frowned at a situation where the NDDC moved into states to execute projects without informing the state government.
“I urge you to quickly meet with the governors to get their blessings on matters of development projects in the states. We need to ensure synergy and avoid duplication of projects. This can be achieved by activating the powers of the Governors as members of the Advisory Board in line with Section 2 of the Act establishing the NDDC.
“As governors, we fought for the setting up of the substantive Board of the NDDC. It is a prayer that has been answered and we thank President Muhammadu Buhari for listening to us.
Earlier, the NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, assured the Governor that all NDDC stakeholders were being engaged to fast-track the development of the Niger Delta region.
“We are engaging the International Oil Companies, IOCs, traditional rulers, civil society groups, contractors and youths in the Niger Delta region,” he said.
The NDDC boss said that as a way of addressing its inadequate financial resources, the Commission had adopted a Public Private Partnership, PPP, approach to development, announcing that the Commission would hold her maiden PPP Summit in Lagos before the end of the month.
Ogbuku also told the governor that the Ogbia-Nembe Road, which was executed through a partnership between the NDDC and Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, would be commissioned by President Buhari in May.
“One of the first steps by the management was a decision to do things differently. NDDC is making efforts to capture every stakeholder in our 2024 budget. We expect that our 2024 budget will be all-inclusive. We will ensure that our projects have a limited life span. We are working on having a smart budget.”
Follow us on twitter
