By Jennifer John
Imo state Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma has lauded president Mohammadu Buhari over the milestone achievements recorded in the Niger Delta region.
He made this statement during the historic official commissioning of the 13-storey Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) ultra -modern head office complex, while pledging support to the repositioning of NDDC to meet the yearnings and aspirations of people of the region who were yet to be convinced that its creation was justified.
Uzodimma who spoke on behalf of the nine governors of the Niger Delta region noted that to effectively address the contract scandal and corruptions that have bedeviled the Commission over the years, active participation of the indigenous people in choice of projects and process of contract award must be ensured.
The historic official commissioning of the 13-storey Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) ultra -modern head office complex was performed by President Muhammadu Buhari at its location in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Thursday, 26 years after its foundation was laid.
President Buhari noted that this was an important milestone in repositioning the NDDC for overall development of the Niger Delta region and commended the management and staff for keying into the programmes of his administration.
The president pointed out that the successful completion of the office complex after two and half decades of abandonment was a result of implementation of three strategic policies which included the re-assigning of supervision of the NDDC to the Ministry of Niger Delta affairs, the ordering of forensic audit on the financial dealings of the Commission from inception to 2019 and directing the completion of all abandoned projects in the region.
In their addresses, the Minister of Niger Delta affairs, Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio, and the Interim Administrator and CEO, Mr. Effiong Okon Akwa appreciated the presidency for the commitment towards the development of the Niger Delta region.
, and further assured that next year the East- west road, another monumental project awarded in 2006, will be completed on sections 1- 6 and commissioned, even as they observed that all these were going on within the COVID 19 era when most global economies are grappling with its ravaging effect.
