Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) chairman, Lauretta Onochie, has described the commission as a shame to the Niger Delta and the country.
She said despite the humongous funds allocated to the commission over the years, the region has remained grossly underdeveloped.
Onochie spoke shortly after assuming office at the headquarters of the commission in Port Harcourt on Thursday.
The immediate past acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua, formally handed over to the newly inaugurated board.
Onochie lamented that that money earmarked for the development of the Niger Delta was being squandered in Abuja, Lagos and overseas, while the people of the region lived in squalour and abject poverty.
She said: “Today is a historic day, not just for the people of the Niger Delta, but for the women of the Nigeria. And being a historic day, we have a lot of things going on today. Let me remind us why we are here.
“This organisation (NDDC) was commissioned specifically for the people of Niger Delta.
“It is an interventionist agency that is supposed to bring about prosperity; it is supposed to bring development in our region.
“This organisation was set up in the year 2000. And, if you go round the Niger Delta till date, there is little or nothing to show for it. NDDC has been a shame of the Niger Delta and a shame of our nation.”
