The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has revealed its plan to partner with the United Nations (UN) satellite Centre to avert the challenges of flooding in the Niger Delta region.
Dr Samuel Ogbuku,
NDDC Managing Director stated this during a virtual presentation on ways of combating flood challenges in the Niger Delta region by a technical team of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research at the Commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt.
Ogbuku urged the centre to proffer lasting solutions to the natural disaster (flood) in the Niger Delta region because temporary solutions were unsustainable and wasted the resources of the Federal Government and its agencies.
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He said:
“We are open to partnership in finding a lasting solution to the perennial flood in our region. As an interventionist agency, we are looking at solving the problems of the Niger Delta region permanently rather than treating the symptoms.”
Ogbuku, who insisted that the solution to the flood challenges of the Niger Delta region could not be addressed by the NDDC alone, called for collaboration between the interventionist agency and the various levels of government.
He further spoke on the proposition from UNITAR to train and certify youths of the region in Seafaring.
Ogbuku said:
“We are willing to partner with you on training seafarers. At NDDC, our focus is not just building physical infrastructures but also developing human capital.”
The DG recalled that the former Country Representative of UNITAR, Dr Larry Boms revealed 19 United Nations development agencies in Nigeria who were working with various government departments and agencies on the topic.
He said:
“As an interventionist agency, the NDDC is evaluated based on how well the NDDC meets the Sustainable Development Goals.
“We propose to train Niger Delta youths in seafaring. German ship owners have offered to train the youths for one year to enable them to get their seafaring certifications.”
On his part, Mr Olivies van Damme speaking from Geneva, Switzerland, via video conferencing, the Technical Team Leader, UNOSAT said that the UN Satellite Centre planned to promote evidence-based decision-making for peace, security and resilience using geospatial information technologies.
Damme said:
“We are engaged in environmental conservation including flood management. We are focused on developing capacity. We work with our partners to offer Artificial Intelligence- enhanced flood monitoring systems.
“In Nigeria, we want to focus on environmental conservation. We develop customised solutions for countries by working on flood management. We provide real-time monitoring of flood situations in our country of focus.”
The NDDC Executive Director of Projects, Mr Charles Ogunmola also said the commission was continually looking for ways to extend its developmental footprints in the Niger Delta region.
Ogunmola said:
“We want to be able to use data to foresee disaster and plan to mitigate the effects. Collaboration with UNOSAT will also help us to train and engage our youths.”
The development was contained in a statement issued by the NDDC Director of Corporate Affairs, Dr Ibitoye Abosede in Port Harcourt on Wednesday and made available to newsmen.
