A former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ogbonna Nwuke, has faulted the call for the review of the Parliamentary Act establishing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Speaking with LEADERSHIP in Port Harcourt yesterday, Nwuke insisted that the NDDC law has nothing to do with the interventionist agency’s performance.
He called on the management of the NDDC to implement the agency’s blueprint for the Niger Delta region to accelerate the development of the area.
He said, “I don’t think that problems, if any, responsible for NDDC’s non-performance has anything to do with the law. It is to say that we are like people trying to put a cart before a horse. In some countries, laws are not written, conventions are followed, and yet, they operate.
“So, the content of the NDDC Act has nothing to do with its operational mode. A former President made a remarkable comment about NDDC and its operations. There are undue duplications in terms of projects and the fact that you have disproportionate political influence, and he said that as a politician, he knows what he is talking about.
“So, we are leaving substance to pursue shadows. Let us make the NDDC work; it is not the laws, no matter how many times you review the laws. It is not the laws that make agencies work. It is the determination of those who run the agencies.
“So, let those running the NDDC brace up, roll up their sleeves and work. It is the intention of the NDDC that critically matters as an interventionist agency. The NDDC has long ago set up a blueprint, but to what extent has it followed its blueprint as we go into the future?
“The other time I heard the NDDC managing director talk about building a dam, I was so excited because that could help control the level of flood in the Niger Delta, that could help generate energy and electricity. I was very excited. But, many months after those comments, what has happened? Let’s stop this window-dressing?” he said.
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