NDDC will approve only value-adding projects – Ogbuku

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, has stated that the commission will only approve projects that will add value to the oil-rich region.

This was part of his submissions at the just-concluded Niger Delta Stakeholders Summit held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

“We will chart a new course for the region. The summit is a yardstick for feedback and possibly finding ways of improvement in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu. It will not just be an interaction with individuals, but an open interaction with members of the National Assembly, ministers from the region, and the private sectors, to discuss the Niger Delta and the mechanisms for effective delivery of services and projects.

 “We will explore means of reducing recurrent expenditure. While we focus on completing capital projects, only projects that add value to the Niger Delta region will be approved. Our commitment is to work together towards transforming the region, by the eight Point Presidential Priorities, and the demands of the NDDC Act of 2000,” Ogbuku stated.

He added that the summit was an opportunity to open up the NDDC to accountability.

“We are working very hard to deliver. What we are doing now is to do things differently by positively telling our story. Check the statistics of NDDC projects, and it cannot be said that the commission has done very well. The people believe in government policies. I have confidence in government policies. Make the people believe in you.

“Indeed, a back-of-the-envelope check shows without any scintilla of doubts that the commission has made a clear difference in the Niger Delta region by executing more than 10,945 projects since 2001, comprising 4,151 roads and bridges, 2,323 rural electrification projects, 1,723 building projects, and 642 water projects across the nine mandate states. While most of these have been completed, others are still ongoing,” he mentioned.

Ogbuku explained that the focus of the NDDC in 2024 will be on continuous engagement with various strata of NDDC’s stakeholders, to grasp and understand the needs of the people of the Niger Delta region.

He disclosed that the Ogbia-Nembe Road in Bayelsa State, renewable energy projects and other infrastructural projects had been embarked upon in the hinterland of the entire region.

“The knock-on effect of the projects remains far-reaching. The projects have, in turn, attracted the presence of micro, small and medium-scale businesses by roadside auto mechanics, vulcanizers, kiosks, petty trading, carpenters, welders, and more. The projects have not only opened up such areas, but they have also conferred higher value on real estate. They are also helping to solve the problem of unemployment,” he maintained.

Also, former President Goodluck Jonathan said the NDDC came as a child of necessity, whose strategic role also included improving the environment, providing infrastructure, and enhancing the livelihood of the people in the region.

“With the birth of this current leadership of NDDC, people from the Niger Delta have seen some rays of light. Therefore, I encourage the political class not to overstretch the NDDC for them to be able to perform optimally.

“The political class must not frustrate the Niger Delta Development Commission so that it can optimally perform its duties,” Jonathan remarked at the summit.

 Similarly, the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, stated, “To achieve lasting solutions, we must overcome disunity. Unity among the people of the Niger Delta and the entire nation is not just a choice but a necessity. Through our shared vision, we can overcome the obstacles before us.”