By Gabriel Atumeyi
Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has urged the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to focus on the development of the Niger Delta with people-oriented and sustainable projects.
Okowa made the call on Thursday, February 19, 2021, when the Interim Administrator of the Commission, Mr Effiong Akwa, and his management team, visited him at Government House, Asaba.
He advised the NDDC to spend more money on bigger projects that connect communities and have capacity to impact on the people.
The governor commended the interim administrator for reaching out to stakeholders in the region for inputs for the development of the area, and expressed hope that NDDC would truly live up to expectations of the people.
While advising the management of the commission to partner with state governments in the region in its activities, he said: “For the sake of sustainability, everything we do must be sustainable because I have seen roads done under emergency projects that failed under three months.
“The NDDC is supposed to be an interventionist agency but because of politics, we have continued to allow ourselves to be caught in the web of competition, which ought not to be so.
“I do know that there was a master plan that was put up in collaboration with the states some years ago. This would have helped to develop the Niger Delta. I don’t know how long you will be there but try to make a mark for yourself while your stay lasts. When you satisfy yourself that you have done well according to your conscience, then you can leave the office a happy man.
“I am glad that you have met my brother governors; I am also of the opinion that the Presidential Advisory Committee on NDDC should meet with the management of the commission to look at further ways we can collaborate to develop the region.
“The more we are able to relate with ourselves, the more we are able to achieve as a people,” Okowa said.
Going further, he noted that if more youths of the Niger Delta were engaged, the better it would be for the nation, and assured that his administration will continue to provide skills acquisition and empowerment for youths in Delta State to enable them be job creators, instead of job seekers.
“The more we give them skills that will enable them to stand on their own and also link them with finance houses or direct empowerment from government, the better for us as a people.
“That is a programme we are pursuing as a state and we need collaborations in this regard, and I hope we can partner in this stead.”
On his part, Akwa told the governor that he was in Asaba as part of his engagements with key stakeholders in the region to share his plans.
He lauded the governor for his administration’s efforts in empowering the youths of Delta, saying that the NDDC was committed to the sustainable development of Niger Delta, and assuring that the Commission would no longer carry out projects at variance with the aspirations of the people.
The high point of the visit was the donation of five waste disposal trucks to Delta Government by the NDDC.