Stakeholders and opinion leaders in the Niger Delta Region have commended President Muhammadu Buhari for keeping to his many promises to the region and its people through accountable and transparent development.
While speaking at the just concluded NDDC-PPP Summit in Lagos, the stakeholders lauded President Buhari for repositioning and initiating people-oriented reforms in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) through the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs (MNDA) for sustainable development of the region.
The stakeholders specifically thanked the president for the appointment of Mr. Umana Okon Umana as a Minister in the MNDA, maintaining that his leadership has engendered public confidence through commitment to good public governance, which according to them, has impacted positively on peace and stability in the Niger Delta region.
The stakeholders, including the Senator-Elect and former Chairman of the APC, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole; the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Matthew Urhoghide; Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Mr. Simbi Wabote; former Managing Director of the NDDC, Mr. Timi Alaibe and former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Mr. Dakuku Peterside, acknowledged that things have changed for the better at the Commission.
Speaking, while declaring the summit open, the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, thanked the stakeholders and the people of the Niger Delta for their steadfastness and commitment to the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
Represented by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Umana Okon Umana, Vice President Osinbajo said “the President’s directive to reform the NDDC was timely as it has repositioned the Commission to be transparent, accountable and to run on the template of global best practices in public governance.”
“We set in motion an era of accountability and transparency by publishing in national newspapers a list of 2,506 completed projects executed by the Commission under the Buhari administration from 2015 to 2022. The feedback to this level of commitment to openness in public governance has been tremendous.”
“Today, we are witnessing an enthusiastic response by stakeholders and development partners to an invitation to dialogue on the development of the Niger Delta because there is trust in public institutions that are run according to law and due process. Public-Private Partnership would not be realistic in a government institution that is burdened with trust deficit,” he maintained.
Speaking further, the Vice President said “In keeping with the Action Plan to do things right, government approved for implementation some of the key recommendations of the Forensic Audit into the activities of the NDDC, while the White Paper on the Forensic Audit Report is being awaited. As recommended in the Report, contracts for 4000 projects were cancelled for non-performance and the cancellation was published in the newspapers. The process for recovering money paid for the cancelled contracts has begun.”
The Vice President also noted that “the rapid positive perception of the NDDC is evident in the enthusiastic response of private sector players to the invitation to dialogue on the way forward for the development of the Niger Delta.”
Highlights of the summit included the signing of an MOU between the NDDC and Atlantic Global Resources Inc. to build a $15 billion railroad that will link all states of the Niger Delta region in a modern transport hub.
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