Oscarline Onwuemenyi
23 June 2016, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) says 25 per cent of its new projects are to be chosen by members of the National Assembly from the region.
The Acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Mrs Ibim Semenitari disclosed this in its first quarterly report made available to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday.
She noted in the report, which is titled ‘The New Face of Progress’ that, “For the first time in the history of the NDDC, 25 percent of the commission’s new projects shall be chosen by National Assembly members from the Niger Delta region.”
She added that “As the official representatives of the people of the region, the lawmakers are well placed to guide the commission on its choice of projects based on the people’s needs. Another 25 percent of the new projects shall be based on the choice of other stakeholders from the region.”
Semenitari also explained that the NDDC would choose the balance 50 per cent of the new projects through consultations with states and communities in the Niger Delta.
According to the report, the draft of the commission’s 2016 budget was ready and awaiting the approval of its management committee before it would be forwarded to the Presidency.
“For the first time, letters were written to State Government requesting their input to the budget in line with the Niger Delta Master Plan,” she stated.
The report further highlighted a number of “strategic human capital development programmes’’ carried out by the commission in the period under review.
She added that the programmes were in the areas of skills acquisition and development, education, healthcare, environment, security, youth and women development, among others.