Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, said the Commission will, in February 2025, begin a new round of project commissioning across the Niger Delta region.
Ogbuku disclosed this yesterday during an interactive session with some journalists at the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
He stated that some of the landmark projects to be inaugurated included the multi-purpose emergency shelters in Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers states, which would provide relief to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), in the event of flooding in the Niger Delta region.
The NDDC Chief Executive Officer, who noted that the commission was determined to make the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Federal Government a reality in the Niger Delta region, restated his commitment to the mandate given to the Commission by President Bola Tinubu to change the narrative in Nigeria’s oil-producing region.
Ogbuku said: “The President gave us a matching order during our inauguration to positively turn things around in the Niger Delta region. The board and management have worked vigorously to meet Mr. President’s expectations. Six months after our inauguration, we were able to commission some significant projects as part of the one-year anniversary of President Tinubu’s administration.
“My reappointment alongside the current NDDC Board is not just a vote of confidence in me by Mr. President but a symbol of trust. For me and a few other persons who were reappointed to this present board, Mr. President gave us the reappointment on trust.”
The NDDC boss pledged that the commission would adhere strictly to the President’s directive to the Commission to complete all ongoing projects in the region, including roads, bridges, schools, and healthcare facilities.
He said, “The President is encouraging us in the area of funding. He approved our raising N1 trillion from financial institutions in the 2024 budget to complete legacy projects.
“Today, the NDDC has an approved 2024 budget. The last budget of this commission was in 2020 and I believe this is the only agency operating without a budget for this long period. So, these things have been achieved in collaboration with the Presidency, the National Assembly and other regional stakeholders.”
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