The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NDDC

  • Uzamere’s defection blues

    SIR: I had considered whether or not to write this reply for a few days before bringing myself to the realisation that to keep silent in the face of the obvious lack of reasonable care on the part of Senator EhigieUzamere that is representing Edo South Senatorial District at the National Assembly, would amount to a disservice not only to the people he represents but to Edo state and Nigeria in general. Senator Uzamere had advertised in the Vanguard Newspaper of Wednesday February 12, 2014, a letter announcing his defection from Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) on which platform he was elected to the Senate in 2011 to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Addressed to ”My dear people of Edo South Senatorial District”, Senator Uzamere’s letter was titled ”THIS HOUSE IS NOT OUR HOME. IT IS TIME TO GO (AMALAWA).

    In returning to the PDP which he left in 2011, Senator Uzamere exercised his constitutional right of freedom of association. I do not think anyone can or should quarrel with that. It is his right to seek out and associate with persons who he thinks can add value to his life and politics.

    It is instructive to note that Uzamere secured ACN ticket to go back to the Senate , not because there were no better qualified aspirants in the ACN but because the progressive party deemed it imperative to compensate him for the support he gave to the ACN government in Edo State. Senator Uzamere was, no doubt, careless in his remarks about what he described as the present reality in Edo State in which Benin people have been marginalised. Those remarks, false as they are, were designed to whip up ethnic sentiments and put a wedge between Benin people and other sections of Edo state. It is unfortunate this Uzamere chose to disparage a system and people whose homogeneity is and never will be in doubt. The present administration in Edo State has been fair to all in the distribution of appointments and projects including Edo South. Aside the Governor (Edo North), Secretary to the State Government (Edo North) and Head of Service (Edo Central), all other major positions starting with Deputy Governor, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Chief Judge, President of Customary Court of Appeal, Chief of Staff, Civil Service Commission, House of Assembly Service Commission, Accountant-General of the State, etc are in Edo South. No one has complained of marginalisation against the government of Edo State. The attention of Senator Uzamere should be directed to the lack of federal presence in Edo State generally and his senatorial district in particular.

    The Edo South Senator should admit it that the real reason for his defection is his inability to push through his personal assistant as nominee for the same NDDC state representative position. He has refused to face the reality that it is the state government that has responsibility to nominate a representative to the board of NDDC and not himself as a Senator. He may also not admit (but it is curiously coincidental) that his defection was influenced by the carrots dangled before Senators and Representatives including cash and automatic tickets by the ruling PDP. How else can one describe the sudden eulogy he is now pouring on the PDP whose ticket he described as “worse than the Zimbabwean Dollar” less than four years ago? We wonder if the Zimbabwe dollar is not worse off today than it was when Uzamere joined the APC almost four years ago.

     

    • Blessing Yakubu,

    Yenagoa, Bayelsa, State

     

  • NDDC hostel excites students

    NDDC hostel excites students

    The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has completed a 174-room Hall of Residence for students of the Federal University of Technology in Owerri (FUTO), Imo State. MOHAMMED SANI (400-Level Public Health) reports.

    It is bigger and imposing,” Jacinta Izuaka, a 300-Level student of Food Science Technology of the Federal University of Technology in Owerri (FUTO), Imo State, said after the commissioning of the ultra-modern hostel built by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for the institution. “It certainly has more spaces than the existing hostels on our campus,” she added.

    Jacinta was expressing the mind of students when the 174-room hostel was opened for use last week. For the NDDC, the occasion was a defining moment because it was delivering on its mandate.

    NDDC Chairman Senator Bassey Ewa-Henshaw led members of the commission to the university to open the building. Ewa-Henshaw said the commission would step up its partnership with higher institutions in the Niger Delta to promote quality education.

    He said the hostel would provide a conducive learning environment and help students in their studies.

    The NDDC Managing Director, Mr Bassey Dan-Abia, spoke about the agency’s contributions to educational development. He said since human capital development tops the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan, the commission would strive to provide infrastructure that would help achieve the goal.

    He said: “One of this administration’s policies for the development of education is the provision of infrastructure to stop over-crowding of students and increase access to decent accommodation, in line with the millennium development goals. We are working to achieve this aim.”

    On how it is assisting other agencies, Ewa- Henshaw said the commission provided science equipment to secondary schools, retrained 500 science teachers and 225 principals and vice principals for capacity enhancement in schools management and administration.

    He said: “We will, in line with President Jonathan’s directive, consistently complete and deliver many more projects for the benefit of the people of the Niger Delta in the coming months and years. Particularly, more hostel projects will be embarked on for the benefit of our students in universities across the region.”

    Ewa-Henshaw announced the approval of the university’s request for a 500KVA electric transformer and generator for the hostel.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Chigozie Asiabaka, said NDDC had fulfilled its mandate of facilitating the rapid and sustainable development of the Niger Delta with the projects. He praised the commission for delivering the hostel, and requested for more facilities.

    President of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) Godson Okeke said the new hostel had given students a reason to believe in the government and the commission. “We have thoroughly inspected the project and we certify that it is worthy to be occupied by our students,” he said.

    Uchenna Ohalete, national secretary of Igbo Youths Ambassadors, described the edifice as a well-thought out initiative. He said: “This is one of the biggest projects in FUTO. It will enhance the welfare of the students and go a long way in alleviating the problems they encounter in securing hostel accommodation.”

    The traditional ruler of Dindi-Ihiagwa in Owerri West Local Government Area of the state, Eze Kinsley Eze-Odu, described the hostel as a “jumbo edifice” that would elevate the status of the university. “As the Eze of the institution’s host community, I am not Oliver Twist but I must ask for more facilities to help the university authorities to properly manage the increasing students’ population,” he said.

    The state-of-the-art hostel has a 696 bed space and amenities for occupants’ convenience. The building has a big water tank linked to a solar-water treatment plant.

    Other facilities include super markets, cybercafé, games rooms and rooms for physically-challenged students.

  • Imo NDDC commissioner warns against project duplication

    The Imo State Commissioner in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr Kyrian Uchegbu, has warned against the waste of resources through project duplication.

    The warning was contained in a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the Commission, Mr Tony Omah, and released in Owerri on Tuesday.

    It noted that avoiding such waste would fast track the achievement of sustainable development in the Niger Delta area.

    According to the statement, Imo residents should take advantage of some of the programmes of the commission to improve on their living standards.

    It listed such programmes to include women and youth empowerment and the free healthcare delivery services.

    The statement warned contractors handling NDDC’s projects against doing substandard jobs as the commission was determined to encourage international best practices.

    It called on the youth in the Niger Delta to shun violence and refrain from negative activities to embrace peace for quicker development.

     

  • Group to Jonathan: ‘Confirm Edo NDDC commissioner’

    Group to Jonathan: ‘Confirm Edo NDDC commissioner’

    A socio-political group, the Edo/Delta Movement for Equity and Progress has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to confirm the nominee of Governor Adams Oshiomhole, Mr. Henry Okhuarobo, to the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    Edo State is yet to get a representative into the NDDC board months after the new board was inaugurated.

    The group said they approved the nomination of Okhuarobo because of his performances within two years at the NDDC board and the fact that the president confirmed the Delta State Governor nominee, Mr. Tuoyo Omatsuli.

    This was contained in a communiqué.

     

  • NDDC owes N1trillion, says chairman

    NDDC owes N1trillion, says chairman

    The new chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Senator Bassey Henshaw, has expressed worry about the N1 trillion debt owed by the commission.

    Speaking yesterday during a visit to the NDDC Cross River State Commissioner, Mr. Paul Adah, he said the commission may not have funds to pay the debt.

    He, however, said the contractors, whose jobs are certified in line with the specification of the commission, will be paid.

    Henshaw urged the commissioners and the board members on performance, saying they have till June to show evidence of performance.

    He reminded the team of President Goodluck Jonathan’s directive of no award of new contracts, saying part of what was responsible for the inability of contractors to do their jobs was lack of monitoring and proper evaluation of work done.

    To solve this, Henshaw said he would engage a professional consultant to monitor and evaluate the state of work done on sites to enable him get first hand information.

    “This consultant will operate outside the bureaucracy of the NDDC and will follow up the report the commission gives,” he added.

    The NDDC chairman described the abandoned projects as worrisome.

    Expressing worry about the high debt profile, Adah said it was embarrassing to hear that contractors were being owed.

    He met the commission’s workers and visited the paramount ruler of Bakassi, Etim Okon Edet.

    According to him, the new board would not condone such act.

    Adah slammed the commission’s workers for their attitude towards work.

    He said the new board’s mandate was to key into the transformation agenda of President Jonathan.

    The commissioner noted that the board would embark on projects, which would be appreciated by Nigerians.

    “There is need for us to take over the Calabar-Itu Road, which is in a state of disrepair. In doing these projects, we will ensure there are no duplications. We have a charge not to do large scale contracts, but legacy projects,” he said.

  • NDDC ready to open mega-bridge

    NDDC ready to open mega-bridge

    |THE Niger Delta Develop-ment Commission (NDDC) is set to inaugurate one of its star projects, the 600-metre bridge in Ibeno, Akwa Ibom State. To facilitate the process, NDDC Managing Director, Mr. Bassey Dan-Abia has inspected the long-span bridge across the Qua Iboe River in the company of Etim Inyang (Jnr), who is representing Akwa Ibom State on the Governing Board of the Commission.

    Dan-Abia said it was the good fortune of the new NDDC Board to deliver the mega-bridge, and the 6.8-kilometre Iko-Atabrikang-Opolom-IwuoAchang Road. He expressed satisfaction with the quality of the road and the long-span bridge. “I am particularly impressed by the fact that it was done by an indigenous contractor.”

    He said the road and bridge have provided a major link for several communities that were hitherto, locked up in swampy terrain. He said to get the full benefit of the mega-project, “we need to embark on the second phase which will take off a lot of load from the Eket–Ikot-Abasi Road. If it was not provided for in the 2013 budget of the Commission, we would see what can be done about it.”

    The Supervising Engineer for the project, Mr. Etim Eyoette, had earlier informed Dan-Abia that the design for the second phase had been done and that work was progressing at another 36-kilometre Ikoro-Ntafra-Opolom road with eight bridges to link up the Ibeno bridge after the second phase would have been completed.

    According to him, the road would shorten the distance for travellers from Ibeno to Port Harcourt as they would no longer need to pass through Eket.

    A representative of the Ibeno community, Hon. Enyima Inyang, said they were delighted that the first phase of the project has been completed. He, however, appealed to the NDDC to quickly initiate action towards extending the road to other communities in the area.

    Earlier, members of the Senate Committee on the Niger Delta had inspected the bridge and expressed satisfaction with the quality of job done.

    Its Chairman, Senator James Manager, said it was one project which he would want President Jonathan Goodluck to open as soon as possible.

    He said: “We are happy and we have seen that the communities around here are happy too. This is a landmark project and it is very unique.”

    The project was executed by an indigenous engineering firm, Viche Nigeria Ltd. Its Project Engineer, Samuel Eruohi, assured the NDDC’s chief that the firm has completed its assignment and was ready to hand over the project to NDDC. The Ibeno Bridge is the longest bridge built by an indigenous contractor in the Niger Delta Region.

  • NDDC warns contractors against shoddy jobs

    The commissioner representing Ondo State on the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr Amuwa Benson has pledged the determination of the interventionist agency to complete all on-going projects  in the state.

    Benson made the pledge at a reception organised by his friends and political associates in Ilaje Local Government to mark his appointment by the Federal Government.

    Benson said all projects embarked upon by his predecessors would be given attention to for the benefit of the communities.

    The commissioner promised to operate an open door administration and execute projects that would enhance the social and economic lives of the people in the region.

    Benson explained that 90 per cent of the projects of the commission that would come to the state would be cited in the mandate area during his tenure.

    He called on stakeholders to always remember him in prayer and make useful suggestions that would aid his performance.

    Benson said the era in which contractors disappear after collecting mobilisation fees for the jobs awarded to them had gone forever, warning that any contractor who does so will be dealt with accordingly. He also warned contractors handling the commission’s projects to avoid shoddy jobs.

    The former chairman of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Okitipupa who was full of praises at the occasion, promised to review cases of abandoned projects and address them accordingly.

    He said he would soon embark on familiarisation tour of the coastal area of the state particularly the oil producing communities in other to identify their problems.

    While thanking Governor Olusegun Mimiko and President Goodluck Jonathan for his appointment, Amuwa, however promised to justify the confidence reposed in him by the state government.

    He said: “I am here to serve you all. I am here to work for the development of this region. I want to leave NDDC in the state and the coastal area better than I met them through life impacting programmes and projects.

    “ I want to make my impact felt by all of you and that is why I am soliciting for your support. A tree cannot make a forest. I will operate an open door policy and make the completion of all ongoing projects of the commission in this state as directed by President Goodluck Jonathan, my priority”.

    The Olugbo of Ugbo, Oba Frederick Akinruntan, the Olubo of Obenla, Oba Kolawole Ikuesan, the Odoka of Ogbaro, Oba Olufemi Ogbaro, Primate Samuel Ayodele of Zion Church, Igbokoda and other dignitaries who spoke at the occasion described Benson’s appointment as divine.

    They advised him to learn from the mistakes of some of his predecessors and make the welfare of his peoples priority as promised.

     

  • Ondo deserves NDDC executive position

    A group, Patriotic Advocacy Group (PAG), at the weekend protested the non-inclusion of an Ondo State indigene in the executive position of the newly constituted board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    The group, which held an emergency meeting at Igbokoda, headquarters of Ilaje Local Government, flayed the alleged marginalisation of the state in the new management of NDDC.

    Its Director of Media and Publicity, Desmond Iwajomo, faulted the non-inclusion of the state indigenes into the executive management position of the newly constituted board as stipulated in the NDDC Act describing it as illogical.

    The group wondered why indigenes of Ondo State, which is the fifth largest oil-producing state in Nigeria and the only South West oil-producing state was denied the opportunity of becoming the Managing Director or the Executive Director in charge of projects in NDDC when it was supposed to be the state’s turn to fill the position.

    “Ondo State has been sidelined in the scheme of things including benefitting from projects that are categorised as regional projects. Also for the past 10 years, the NDDC as an intervention agency has been very inactive and has not lived up to its statutory duties which include provision of potable water, road construction, land reclamation, environmental protection and so on,” the group further claimed.

  • ‘Akwa Ibom people ‘ll decide in 2015’

    ‘Akwa Ibom people ‘ll decide in 2015’

    A member of the Presidential Monitoring Committee on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Prof. Richard King, said yesterday that as far as the 2015 general election is concerned, Akwa Ibom people will decide through the ballot box. King, speaking with reporters at his Osong Ama home in

    Uyo, the state capital, shortly after a reception in his honour by a socio-political organization, Divine Mandate Organisation, said the beauty of democracy is when the electorate are allowed to exercise their political power through a free and fair election.

  • NDDC: Edo oil communities, Oshiomhole, PDP at daggers drawn

    NDDC: Edo oil communities, Oshiomhole, PDP at daggers drawn

    Ikobi, Oben, Iguelaba and Obozogbe-nugu are four communities in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State sitting atop the largest gas reserve in West Africa. They also have over 95 operational oil wells.

    The abundant wealth of the communities has, however, not translated to better life for members of the communities. Gas produced from the communities are transported to other West African countries while the natives use firewood or stove for cooking.

    They are spoiling for war over what they termed years of neglect despite being the golden goose that laid the golden egg, even as they feed the country.

    A visit to the communities showed that there are no internal road networks within the communities except those leading to the oil wells and flow stations. The communities could only be accessed through Delta State as the other road from Benin-Asaba express road is in a poor state. Abandoned borehole and other projects littered the communities.

    Besides the alleged infrastructural neglect of the communities, the indigenous inhabitants have threatened to disrupt activities of oil companies in the locality over the appointment of Edo State representative into the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    Intrigues and politicking have stalled the appointment of an Edo State representative into NDDC Board. The communities are rooting for one of their sons, Courage Bende Enofe to be appointed against the nominations of Governor Adams Oshiomhole, Senator Ehigie Uzamere and leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    It was gathered that Senator Uzamere presented one Peter Enogieru, PDP leaders in the state forwarded names of Chris Nehikhare, Hon. Levis Aigbogun and Osahon Ahunwa while Governor Oshiomhole preferred the incumbent, Henry Okhuarobo because of his performances in the two years he had been a member of the commission.

    The communities in a protest march led by the traditional ruler of Oben, His Royal Highness (HRH) Odoligie Ogiemwonyi, warned of dire consequences if the Federal Government ignored their pleas.

    They took journalists to the flow stations and some oil wells operations of which they planned to stop.

    A youth leader from Oben, Francis Ogbeide said they decided to insist on their nomination when two years ago they discovered a clause in the NDDC Act which stipulated that the person to be nominated shall be a native of an oil-producing area.

    Francis said two previous nominees into the NDDC, Matthew Iduoriyekemwen and Okhuarobo were from Ikpoba-Okha while the nominee for the Edo State Oil and Gas-Producing Areas (EDSOGPADEC) hails from Ovia North East.

    He said: “We are protesting the position of NDDC commissioner. They have been taking people from non-oil producing areas whereas we are the oil-producing communities. We have been silent since 1972 because we don’t know. We didn’t know that there is a law that says the representative must be from oil-producing communities.

    “Orhionmwon has been left out in the appointment into NDDC. For the past eight years, it has been nominees from Ikpoba-Okha which are not core host communities in Edo State.”

    HRH Ogiemwonyi, who addressed his subjects after the protest, said no meaningful developments have taken place in the communities since 1972 when oil exploration began in the communities.

    He urged his subjects to compare Abuja, the country’s capital to the communities bearing the brunt of oil exploration.

    He said: “I am supporting my people because we have been cheated for so long. Whatever belonged to us must be enjoyed by us. We have not been appointed into NDDC. We have been waiting for the three tiers of government and they are doing nothing about it. They are imposing people on us. They don’t visit here. No government official has visited here. If we are the goose that feeds the country, we should be looked after.

    “We are not militants but they should not push us. We will not allow anybody to dribble us. We don’t want to disturb the oil company but if that is what they want, we will do it.

    “I am directing my grievances at President Jonathan. This is the time to act and they must listen to us. There is no oil in Abuja but look at what Abuja has become while we that lay the golden eggs are suffering.”

    In a letter written to President Goodluck Jonathan on behalf of the communities by their solicitors Monday Agienoji revealed that the communities have written to enjoin the President not to allow self-seeking individuals to hoodwink him into taking the wrong decision in the appointment of Edo State representative into the NDDC board.

    “Any attempt to sideline or edge out the candidate unanimously chosen by our clients will be stoutly resisted by our clients’ communities because they have suffered for so long.

    “If, peradventure our clients’ candidate is allowed to be edged out by ‘bad’ politics, the outcome will be very disastrous indeed as it will be tantamount to a declaration of war on our clients’ communities with the concomitant backlash on the operations of oil and gas companies on ground,” it added.