The management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has vowed to commission all ongoing projects in addition to the already completed and commissioned ones.
This was disclosed Tuesday by the Managing Director (MD) of NDDC,Dr Samuel Ogbuku while briefing the press in Port Harcourt.
According to him,though most of the projects were inherited from previous administrations,but the Commission under his leadership is poised to completing them.
The MD mentioned the Ogbia-Nembe Road,with over seven bridges and several culverts,the Okrika power plant project,6km road with bridges in Akwa Ibom State and Obehie Road in Abia State as some of the star projects already completed and commissioned by his leadership in the Niger Delta region.
Dr Ogbuku said there are other projects littered all over the Niger Delta region,some have been completed,while others are ongoing.
He said the Commission embarked on operation light up the Niger Delta, pointing out that many communities have benefited from it. So the project has been largely successful. This,he said has reduced crimes,which basically thrives in darkness.
The MD said renewable energy, talking about solar will be looked into as mini-grid to help those communities that are having power supply challenge.
He said the Commission recently embarked on stakeholders summit after youths engagement. He promised that the proceeds of the summit will be worked on by experts,with a view to harnessing it.
The MD also said that a scheme known as ‘Project Hope’ to identify the area of strength of the Niger Delta youths, thereby giving hope to the hopeless.
In the area of technology,the MD said, agriculture will be top in the agenda,noting that the world is in dire need of tech experts. He stressed that when harnessed,the energy the youths are expending on illegal bunkering could be channeled positively on technology.
On education,Dr Ogbuku said the Commission has embarked on foreign scholarships and all the fees of their beneficiaries have been paid up to date. He disclosed that they are considering embarking on undergraduate scholarships locally,in view of the rising cost of exchange rate,which has increased the cost of funding the foreign scholarships.
At the primary and secondary school level,the MD said the Commission has procured ‘U-lesson tablets’ that contain several lessons,pointing out that the initiative will bridge the gap between the poor and the rich. He said the scheme will be launched in October,2024.
The NDDC Boss said the last free medical outreach organised by the Commission was successful and several surgeries were conducted. He said they are considering making the event twice a year instead of once.
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He equally told journalists that 30 ambulances were acquired and distributed to hospitals in the region at the wake of the cholera outbreak recently. That the Commission is planning to get cholera vaccines to mitigate further outbreak.
The MD informed the media that the 2024 N1trn budget of the Commission has been passed into law and is awaiting the President’s assent and hopefully that will be done soon.
The MD said internal matters of the Commission concerning staff welfare have been attended to.
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