Two big hands joined numerous others to give a path on the back of the current leadership of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) when the Commission celebrated 25 years of existence.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s highest international figure at the moment, not only commended the both the board chairman, Chiedu Ebie, and the MD/CEO, Samuel Ogbuku, for striking a harmonious partnership like never before but to giving a different tar to the image of the Commission. She however pointed to how the NDDC could leverage the 25th anniversary to draw big plans for better 25 years ahead.
Okonjo-Iweala, Executive Director of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and former Managing Director of the World Bank, urged the NDDC management and board to draw plans that would sidestep the pitfalls of the past and accelerate development in the coming years as lessons from the 25th anniversary.
Her intervention at the plenary session of the anniversary formed the high point of the event where she spoke on the theme. Okonjo-Iweala acknowledged that while the NDDC has made notable strides over the years, much work still lies ahead.
She emphasized that the 25th anniversary should go beyond ceremonial celebrations, serving instead as a strategic opportunity to reflect, review, and critically assess the Commission’s performance in fulfilling its mandate.
She gave pieces of advice including need to strengthen transparency.
On his part, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu reaffirmed confidence in the leadership of the present managing director as well as the board. He talked about the need for stability of the oil region so the nation’s economy would be enhanced.
The President pointed to the strategic importance of the Niger Delta region to Nigeria’s economic future.
This was understood as topmost level endorsement of both the management of the Commission led by Ogbuku and the board led by Chiedu Ebie despite much pressure on the president to see the leadership of the NDDC in negative lights.
The President rather commended the NDDC leadership for their efforts to improve the Commission’s service delivery and encouraged them to sustain the momentum and continue working towards enhancing the region’s development.
The President seemed impressed by human capital development projects of the NDDC. In this, the light up project of communities seemed to stand out in his commendations.
