Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports
Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has described the over 1,700 abandoned Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) projects that litter various parts of the state as unacceptable.
Among the abandoned projects are the Angalabiri-Ebedebiri-Toru-Orua shore protection project, which was included in the commission’s 2020 budget, the Sabagreia-Polaku bridge, and the Akenfa bridge.
Diri, who spoke yesterday when the NDDC Interim Administrator, Dr. Akwa Effiong, paid him a visit in Government House, Yenagoa, noted that the commission’s failure to collaborate with catchment states that would advise on priority projects has resulted in project duplication and abandonment.
Diri also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to form a substantive board for the commission immediately in accordance with its enabling Act, claiming that its absence was impeding the commission’s operations.
Diri, who emphasized that the interim administrator’s arrangement was contrary to the Act and unacceptable to Niger Delta governors, stated that the commission had been unable to meet its mandate due to the absence of a substantive board.
Diri described the NDDC as an interventionist body created to fill the Niger Delta’s developmental gap, and he claimed that the governors have also been stripped of their advisory role, which would have allowed the board to embark on people-oriented projects in the region.
He expressed his administration’s willingness to collaborate with the commission to promote state development.
“In Bayelsa State, the NDDC has a lot of abandoned projects.” According to reports, we have over 1700 projects spread across Bayelsa State. That is obviously unhealthy.
“At this point, I would like to again appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to form a substantive board for the NDDC in accordance with the Act that established it.”
“The NDDC was conceived and established as a developmental interventionist body.” We cannot accept policy reversals that jeopardize our development.
“Instead of being the exception, interim arrangements have become the norm.” That is completely unacceptable to us as Niger Delta governors. According to the Act establishing the NDDC, we have a very large stake, and that role is not being played. There is no board to advise with the interim administration.
“There must be a collaborative effort to profile these projects before they are conceived.” The NDDC was not supposed to go into every state in the region. It should be looking at very large projects, sometimes inter-state projects, with the state governments’ mutual agreement and cooperation,” she added.
Earlier, Dr. Akwa Effiong praised the governor for his developmental achievements, saying he had done well in his short tenure.
