Tinubu Wants Better Deal for Niger Delta, Says NDDC Boss

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, has assured that President Bola Tinubu has better plans for the Niger Delta region following his recent charge to the Commission.

Ogbuku, who spoke yesterday, during an interactive session with management and staff of the NDDC, at the headquarters in Port Harcourt, said the president had charged the commission to do more to develop the region and impact positively on the lives of the people.

He said Tinubu gave the charge when he visited him recently, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The NDDC boss said the president expressed disappointment at the level of underdevelopment in the Niger Delta region and the performance of the Commission as an interventionist agency in the oil-rich region.

According to him, Tinubu also decried the mismanagement of resources of the Niger Delta region and directed the management team to return to the Commission and ensure that a new NDDC emerged.

Ogbuku, also disclosed that Tinubu was anxious to reposition the NDDC to ensure that it worked in the interest of the people of the region, stating: “I made a pledge to President Tinubu that all resources at the Commission’s disposal will be judiciously utilized to increase and improve the impact of the NDDC in the region.”

Speaking further, he clarified that it was only the NDDC’s Governing Board that was dissolved following the directive of the federal government, while the Commission’s management team, which comprises NDDC’s Managing Director, the Executive Director Finance and Administration as well as the Executive Director Projects remained intact.

He announced that the Commission was planning to engage a Multinational Professional Services Consultant (KPMG) to help the Commission set up a viable and sustainable Corporate Governance structure.

In his own remarks, the NDDC Executive Director, Projects, Mr. Charles Ogunmola, noted that the management was setting up new units to facilitate the ease of doing business with the Commission.

He identified the proposed new units as Due Process Unit, Corporate Governance Unit and Contractor Support Unit.

Speaking on behalf of the staff, the Chairman of NDDC Staff Union, Anthony Gbendo, appealed to the management to expedite action on the staff conditions of service, which he noted was long overdue for approval.