Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has said the federal government’s interventionist agency set up in 2000 to address the challenges of development in Niger Delta can only fulfill its core mandate when the bottlenecks hampering its vision and mission are removed.
The observation was made at the end of its two-day retreat for members of the board and management team at the Four Point by Sheraton Hotel, Ikot Ekpene local government area of Akwa Ibom State during the weekend.
LEADERSHIP gathered the conferees, including for the first time, former chairmen, managing directors and stakeholders of the Commission, who converged under the theme: ‘Renewed Hope’: “A New Era for Vitality, Peace and Development,” deliberated on how to re-route the agency along the path of effectively addressing the challenges of sustainable development of the region.
Deliberating on reviewing the agency’s development master plan, the stakeholders noted that “frequent changes in the Governing Board of the Commission have largely accounted for the challenges in projects execution and delivery in the development of the region.”
The chairman of the board, Chiedu Ebie, who read the communique at the end of the summit, urged that “the Federal Government should ensure that the current Board completes its tenure, and that there is continuity in succeeding Boards to ensure sustainability of the Commission’s projects.”
He also stressed “the need for proper synergy, collaboration and coordinating framework between the Ministry of Niger Delta Development, State Governments in the region, the NDDC and development partners.”
He appealed to them to their utmost to ensure that the new board redefines the Commission along the path of sustainable development of the region, devoid of politics and other untoward interests of politicians and friends of government.
To properly reinvent and reposition the agency for optimum performance, Ebie said “there is need for the urgent release of all outstanding statutory contributions of the Federal Government to the NDDC fund, as the non-release of these funds has significantly hampered the ability of the Commission to deliver on its mandate.”
Part of the communique reads: “In view of the peculiar construction window of the Niger Delta region, there is the need for some form of financial autonomy for the NDDC outside the Treasury Single Account (TSA) regime.
“That there is need for the Board and Management to acquaint themselves with relevant rules, in order to effectively discharge the responsibilities imposed under extant laws. Consequently, the NDDC needs to ensure that its projects and programmes are procured in line with extant rules and laws.”
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