AN NDDC GOVERNING BOARD AT LAST

At the risk of rehashing cliches, I commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing a substantive Governing Board for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). It is a step in the right direction. I congratulate members of the Governing Board of the NDDC on their appointment.

To members of the NDDC Governing Board, I will rehash another cliche, it’s time to hit the ground running. There is absolutely no time for bickering among members of the Governing Board, the NDDC is in the eye of the storm, so much is expected of the commission.

In some critical circles, the NDDC is variously and sarcastically referred to as ‘Na Dem Dem Commission’ and ‘Na Dem Dem Chop’. While these sarcastic interpretations of the  NDDC acronym are subject to the views of their purveyors, it is a veritable reminder that much is expected of the NDDC, more so when its primary role as an interventionist agency is considered.

Thankfully, the NDDC Governing Board has a positive trail to follow, the trail set by Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, Managing Director of the NDDC who has been in the leadership of the commission since the beginning of the year. Ogbuku has been proactively engaging critical and relevant stakeholders in the Niger Delta region through the Public-Private  Partnership initiative in the campaign to ensure the sustainable development of the Niger Delta region.

Over the past nine months, Ogbuku’s PPP initiative has proven to be sustainable, progressive and popular with stakeholders. The PPP is a veritable programme that brings together everyone in sustainable development of the Niger Delta development value chain. The PPP ensures that everyone in the value chain receives their due. It brings together; the project, the project managers and the project beneficiaries.

The PPP trail is a veritable trail I encourage the NDDC Governing Board to embrace, follow, strengthen and build on in order to write their names in marble and ensure their legacy in the sands of time.

 Ebitu Oku,

Uyo, Akwa Ibom State