NDDC, YOU SEE YOUR LIFE? You take money from the states and take directives from Abuja and PDP. They even take the lil glory Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and his Edo State counterpart, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole both of the opposition All Progressive Congress (APC) at the weekend shunned the statutory meeting of the Advisory Council of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) which held in Asaba. Also conspicuously absent was the chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum and Akwa-Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio who did not send representative just as Amaechi and Oshiomhole were not represented. The NDDC Advisory Council is comprised of the governors of the Niger Delta region including Delta, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Edo, Abia, Imo and Ondo; the chairman of the board of the commission; and the Manager Director of commission who is also the secretary to the council. Flowing from the rally of the PDP which held in Benin City, Edo State, speculations were rife that the agenda of the NDDC Advisory Council meeting was specifically to discuss how to President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election in 2015. But briefing newsmen at the early hours of yesterday, Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko said the council brainstormed on how to urgently address the funding challenges facing the commission. Besides, Mimiko stated that the council decried the attitude of oil majors in the region for defaulting in making contributions to the NDDC for the commission to carry out projects that would grow the economy of the region after oil. “We are exploring ways to see how NDDC can leverage on some of their outstanding funds among which is from oil majors who are supposed to make contributions. Some of them have defaulted in making such contributions,” he told journalists. According to him, council also encouraged the management of NDDC “to place emphasis on major legacy projects that would grow the economy of the region and essentially increase the level of economic activities that would create jobs. “They should also know that oil is a wasting asset, so they should seize this opportunity to put in ground projects that would sustain the region after oil.” Chairman of the NDDC board, Mr. Dan Bassey Abia said that the meeting provided an opportunity to resolve the problems facing the commission stressing that “we have started a new NDDC, things are getting better.” Besides Mimiko, present at the meeting were Theodore Orji (Abia), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), Liyel Imoke (Cross River), chairman of the council, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), and the Secretary to the Imo State Government who represented the Governor Rochas Okorocha. Also in attendance were members of the board and management of the NDDC.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 18:44:24 +0000
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