Ekere: We Will Go Back to The NDDC's Core Mandate

The new Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission, Mr Nsima Ekere, has promised that the new management would return the commission to its core mandate particularly of regional development and integration.

Speaking during the inauguration of the new NDDC board in Abuja on Friday, Mr Ekere said the new team will also focus on ecological management and healthcare services, engagement with stakeholders and development partners, human capital development, youth engagement and development of the non-oil sector thereby attracting new industries.

The NDDC boss also pledged that his team will be innovative, efficient, transparent, prudent and dedicated in the discharge of its functions.

“Working with other partners, we will write a new narrative for the NDDC,” he declared.

He reasoned that a new way of doing things was imperative in the commission in the face of challenges like unemployment, youth restiveness, and nose-diving of revenue as a result of low international oil prices and insecurity.

On his part, the board chairman, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, promised that the board would ensure a total and holistic development of the Niger Delta region by turning the challenges into opportunities.

He gave an assurance that the board would work within the law establishing the commission.

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Usani, who inaugurated the board, charged the members to ensure accountability and service delivery, describing the commission as the most challenging federal government parastatal or agency below the status of a ministry.

The Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Professor Claudius Daramola, urged the board to work within the law, improve the welfare of staff and the lot of communities within the region.

The immediate past Managing Director of NDDC, Mrs Ibim Semenitari said it was certain that Mr Ekere and his team will deliver on their assignment, describing the team as a group of tested professionals.