The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Nsima Ekere, has decried false information on status of projects being executed by the intervention agency. The Akwa-Ibom administrator and former deputy governor also warns that fear had driven away big investors such as the Dangote Refinery that would have added value to the oil region.
The CEO spoke when the Prelate of the Methodist Church Nigeria, Samuel Uche, and his wife, paid a visit to the Commission.
The MD rather urged the Prelate to also advise Niger Deltans against spreading of false information to mislead the people. He deplored a situation where some projects being cited by the mischief makers as being abandoned or diverted to other areas were in fact projects that have been completed by NDDC.
He urged the mischief makers to allow the NDDC to execute its mandate, noting that the current board and management was doing its best to improve on the achievements of previous administrations in NDDC.
Ekere regretted that many of the private sector operators had left the region because of insecurity. He cited the Dangote oil refinery being built in Lagos which he described as the biggest in the world. “This is unfortunate. If that refinery were to be built in the Niger Delta, imagine the number of jobs that would have been created. It would have impacted positively on the economy of the region,” he lamented.
The NDDC boss reaffirmed the need for cooperation in the Niger Delta, stating: “We will work to promote cooperation, collaboration and synergy among stakeholders, such as state and local governments, oil and gas companies, donor agencies, civil society organisations, community-based organisations and other traditional institutions, in order to make regional development a shared vision and common aspiration.
He said that the NDDC had contingent liabilities of N1.8 trillion, which had forced it to reduce the number of new projects in the 2017 budget to enable the Commission complete on-going projects. “We are using the bottom up approach where communities determine their needs to guide the NDDC. We are reducing the number of new projects, dedicating 70 per cent to servicing on-going projects and 30 per cent for new ones.”
The Prelate had urged the National Assembly to increase the funding of the Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to enable it impact positively on the lives of people of the Niger Delta region.
Uche decried the deprivation in the Niger Delta region and called on the Federal Government to urgently address the problems of the area. He said: “The Niger Delta region is the goose that lays the golden egg. The wealth of this country comes from the Niger Delta, yet the people live in want and deprivation.”
He added: “I pray that the management should succeed and I urge the directors to follow due process in all their actions. I am here to pay for NDDC that God’s presence will be in the commission.”
Ignatius Chukwu
