By Ikenna Omeje
President Muhammadu Buhari will on Thursday inaugurate the N16 billion newly-completed office complex of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, announced this while addressing newsmen, alongside the NDDC Interim Administrator, Efiong Akwa, at the newly completed headquarters in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
According to a release by the NDDC’s Director, Corporate Affairs, Ibitoye Abosede, the Minister said that the NDDC has shown focus and determination by completing the 13-floor headquarters.
He declared: “The NDDC has added to the infrastructural transformation of the Niger Delta. It gladdens my heart to see to the completion of this project. It shows that, indeed, Nigeria can change with determination and focus. I have seen it here in the NDDC.”
He observed that the previous administrations that neglected the project may have had their reasons but it was important to note that a leadership with focus and determination will always make a difference.
Akpabio said: “I commend the past Chief Executives like Prof Bradikumo Pondei and Dr Akwagaga Enyia who showed sufficient commitment to the project. It was Akwagaga who showed me round on my first visit to the project. I was not happy with what I saw and I was told that I was the first Minister to visit the project site.
“After the visit, I decided that I will convince Mr. President on the need to make the project a focus for the NDDC and a major achievement for the Federal Government which would also be used to reposition the NDDC. It came down to two major things; the forensic audit and the completion of the new headquarters.”
He further stated: “What I have seen today, justifies the request for a furnishing contract for the new office complex. I will take the request to the Federal Executive Council for approval,” adding that henceforth, NDDC would undertake regional projects, linking the states in the region with good roads. The Commission, he said, would also rejig its modus operandi and this would include the laws governing the Commission.
In his remarks, the NDDC Chief Executive Officer, Akwa, thanked President Buhari and Akpabio, for their determination to see to the completion of the new headquarters building.
He noted: “When the Minister came to inspect the project, he met a skeletal building. The Minister insisted that this project must be completed.
“The President agreed with the Minister and approved that resources be put in to complete the project. This is a big achievement for the NDDC and the supervising ministry. The transfer of the supervision of the NDDC to the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has paid off and the result is what we are seeing today.
“The contractor has done a good job and I commend his efforts. The media has a duty to inform the world that a new thing has happened in the Niger Delta region.”
