By Akanimo Sampson
A residential quarters and administrative block of 64 flats for security personnel will soon be commissioned for use in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
NDDC’s Interim Administrator, Efiong Akwa, made this known while inspecting the quarters built for senior security personnel, pointing out that the project will add value to the living conditions of security officers posted to work in the state.
This is coming as the immediate past Bayelsa State Governor, now Senator representing Bayelsa West, Seriake Dickson, is urging President Muhammadu Buhari, to order the immediate composition of the board of NDDC.
In a statement on Wednesday, Dickson also asked Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Godswill Akpabio, to start consulting stakeholders for the purpose of making the board a reality.
He said the next thing after the successful completion of the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt was for the President to constitute the board, adding, “what is left now is for the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs to consult stakeholders and guide the President correctly in constituting the NDDC board in accordance with the Act as soon as possible.’’
Continuing, Dickson said, “while the ongoing forensic audit of NDDC is being finalised, the President can send the names to the Senate for appropriate action. The Niger Delta people need a functional NDDC Board to begin to clear the mess in the Commission.
“I call on the President to follow the NDDC Act in the composition of the expected board by which Bayelsa should have the Managing Director. I am against the call that the Ministry of Niger Delta be transferred to the Presidency. I advise stakeholders and some leaders in the Niger Delta who are advocating such a move to withdraw as it is not in the best interest of the Niger Delta.
“The Niger Delta does not need such a self-inflicted injury. Even if such people have disagreements with, or do not like Akpabio or any current holder of that office, they should not push for an action that is glaringly inimical to the interest of the region. The fact is that the office of the Minister will be occupied by someone from the Niger Delta and it will amount to cutting one’s nose to spite the face to demand its transfer to the Presidency.
“We should not hesitate to point out errors on the part of those who are superintending over the affairs of the NDDC but it is against Niger Delta interest to move the supervision of the NDDC to any other place other than the Ministry of the Niger Delta.”
The former Bayelsa governor notes that the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs was created by the late President Umar Yar’Adua, “a man who meant well for Nigeria and the Niger Delta’’, saying the establishment of the ministry and the Amnesty programme were two legacies of the late President Yar’Adua that will continue to serve the national interest.
While adding, “I call on all stakeholders in the region to work with the Minister and the NDDC board when constituted’’, Akwa however, said NDDC was created for the purpose of intervening in the life of the people of the Niger Delta, stating that the project was a demonstration of the importance the Commission attached to security in the Niger Delta region.
“We intervened in the housing sub-sector because we realized that when Federal public servants are transferred to Port Harcourt as the regional headquarters of the South-South region, housing was usually an issue. Some persons transferred to Rivers State would ask for enhanced housing allowances. Some will even refuse to come and because of that most of them were ineffective.
“To address this challenge, NDDC decided to intervene by providing houses for senior security officers to ensure that they are more effective in their duties to secure the environment, because if our environment is not secure, there would be no investment”, the NDDC chief said.
According to him, the completion of the project was another major achievement of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, noting: “When people say that NDDC is not working, you can see that it is not true. The problem is that people don’t get to know about the numerous projects that the Commission is executing.
“The residential flats and administrative buildings have been completed and would soon be commissioned. We will invite President Buhari to perform another virtual commissioning in Rivers State.”
He promised to clear all outstanding Interim Payment Certificates, IPCs, to enable the contractors to put finishing touches to the project. He thus gave the contractors three weeks to complete the finishing touches and hand over the project to the Commission.
“This investment is going to help in improving security in Rivers State, especially in the vicinity of the airport. It will surely enhance the security of the Port Harcourt International Airport and it will also add value to the economic and social life in the area’’, Akwa said.
Commenting on the project, one of the contractors, Stanley Aruah, notes that it was started in 2013 and was supposed to be completed in eight months. He regretted that delays in the release of funds stalled the project.
He said that despite the funding challenges, the contractors still continued to work to ensure the completion of the project, affirming that the job would be fully done if money was released for the final
touches. “We are going to complete the project within three weeks as directed by the Interim Administrator’’, he said.
