Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, has provided clarity on the issue of the tenure of the current governing board of the Commission, stating that the members were appointed for a four-year tenure.
Addressing a press conference at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, Ogbuku said the insinuations in some quarters that his tenure as the Managing Director would end this year, was false and without any foundation.
He stated that subject to the provision of section 4 of the NDDC Establishment Act, “a member of the board other than ex-efficio member, shall hold office for a term of four years at the first instance and may be reappointed for a further term of four years and no more.”
Ogbuku said that those pushing for the truncation of the tenure of the NDDC Board were not happy that members were working harmoniously to deliver on the mandate of president Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the people of the Niger Delta region.
The NDDC Chief Executive Officer lamented that in spite of the efforts of the NDDC Board and management to deliver on quality projects and programmes, some people with selfish motives were working behind the scene to return the commission to the days of instability and non-performance.
He said, “Nothing will distract the NDDC Board and Management from holding fast to its mantra of Transiting from Transactions to Transformation.”
Ogbuku advised those scheming for a change of batons at NDDC to hold their horses as President Tinubu re-appointed him for another term of four years, noting that the region should be ready to see more people-oriented projects and programmes.
He assured that as soon as the 2024 budget of the Commission was signed into law, the on-going efforts to complete legacy projects would gain momentum, pointing out that the plan in the budget was to raise N1 trillion from development and commercial banks for the completion of legacy projects spread across the Niger Delta region.
Ogbuku explained that the legacy projects included regional roads, bridges, electricity projects, school buildings, hospitals, shore reclamation and protection, among others.
He also outlined recent initiatives of the Board, including the Niger Delta Stakeholders’ Summit, which was a culmination of other engagements with the youth groups and women. He assured that the resolutions of the summit would inform future actions, stating that the communique would be presented to President Tinubu.
Speaking on the NDDC Healthcare Programme, which caters to the needs of rural communities, Ogbuku said that the recent free medical outreach across the nine states of the region, was successful, leading to plans for holding the event biannually.
He said further that the Commission had acquired and distributed 13 ambulances to regional hospitals in response to a cholera outbreak and was working to secure more ambulances and cholera vaccines to prevent further incidents.
In the education sector, the NDDC boss highlighted the Foreign Post-Graduate Scholarship Programme of the Commission, noting that 2,323 students in the region had so far benefited from it.
He added, “We have released the initial funds for beneficiaries of the 2024/2025 scholarship programme. In response to the rising costs of foreign education, we are considering offering local undergraduate scholarships.”
The NDDC boss assured that the era of not having data or evidence of projects and programmes was gone, adding the current Board and Management of the Commission had adopted strategies to showcase its activities.
