Niger Delta Ministry Not Competing With States – Minister

The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has said it is not competing with states in the oil-bearing region of the country in service delivery and infrastructure development.

Minister in charge of the ministry, Abubakar Momoh stated this when he visited Abia State governor, Alex Otti, advocating a closer relationship between the ministry and the states.

He said he and members of his entourage were on inspection of projects embarked upon by the ministry and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in the state.

Momoh extolled the governor for his development strides and raising of bar on security of life and property in the state, saying the ministry appreciates Otti’s agenda for the state.

“Your Excellency, you’re one person that everybody loves because when the issue of visiting your state was mentioned there was no dissenting voice,” he added.

Responding, the governor appealed to the ministry to direct contractors handling the commission’s abandoned projects in the state to return to the sites to complete them.

He lamented that the state is a major beneficiary of the commission’s abandoned projects, noting that some of its roads in the state had since collapsed and needed attention.

Otti observed that most of the projects were abandoned due to the commission’s failure to settle the contractors’ outstanding bills and appealed to the minister to address the issue.

“I want to say that both the ministry and the commission are very important and strategic to our administration’s drive to reposition the state,” the governor stated.

While commending the minister for embarking on the inspection, he assured him that the state would partner him to ensure that the goals of the ministry are achieved.