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Tag: Niger-Delta

FG urges Niger Delta militants to remain calm

The Federal Government on Monday appealed to the Niger Delta militants to remain calm and allow the government to address the issues in the region.

The militants, who were bombing oil installations at the beginning of this administration, are again threatening to resume hostilities in the region.

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Uguru, spoke with State House journalists after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

On the fresh threats by the Avengers in the Niger Delta, he said “Well, we haven’t discuss the Avengers per se. But its of essence as the President has always shown indication that whatever we need to and can do to sustain peace in the region, we would continue to do it.

“And of course, the benefit of that, you are aware that the Vice President has been chairing the committee that handles the issues they are raising. And so, while that goes on operationally, headed by the Vice President’s position in the committee, the President just needs to be briefed on our efforts though we know that the Vice President is briefing him from time to time but per se, the Avengers issues was not discussed.

“On a general note, it is understood that we have to be engaged to be able to sustain the peace that prevailed for a while.

“My message is not just verbal but it has been demonstrated by the fact at all times, the government of which I am part, my role as minister in charge of the region, we have been appealing with them to just be patient with us, because, most of the time, the issues that are brought up are those that tend to portray the quest for development of the region.

“And that is all we have been doing to say, patiently with us, these issues raised genuinely to the benefits of people of the region are being attended to. For instance, the Okerekoko University, you are aware that the Vice President has directed that that University must take off.

“And he also directed that a minimum of N5 billion be budgeted for the take off of the University so, it’s a matter of patience knowing that some of these things have a procedure, so it will not be because it did not happen the way they wanted so it will not happen. Everything has a phase of planning and a phase of execution.” he added

He expressed gladness that all the parties including the Government, Avengers, Elders and so on have listened to one another in the past few months.

He added “We would wish that this continues so, we would advise all of us to remain calm and see the things that we agitated for coming little by little.

On the claims by the Avengers that government has failed to keep its promises, he said “The first question which talks about all the promises that have been made are not seen is not correct. I just talked about the University. The other issue is the communities being part of surveillance of the petroleum infrastructure in the region.

“And of course you know that by the modular refineries which they had also talked about as sub-sect of how they can be engaged instead of what is called illegal refineries. They are also on, because the process of building a refinery or even getting the necessary procedures to establish such is not just a one day business.

“Advertisements have been made, people have indicated interest and of course, to get it sustainable, the government is having the state governments involved but privately driven so that all concerned will be on a common page to be able to be sure that when ever it takes off, there is no frustration or sabotage.

“Then your second question of meeting with the Avengers,. For us as a government, there hasn’t been any group from the region that intended to meet with any arm of government that has been rebuffed. So, if any people make such overtures, we are happy to receive them. We have been receiving different groups. We are not limiting our dialogue or discussions to any particular group so any body that says he is relevant in the process and comes forth, we will engage.” he said

Speaking on the promise on the East West road, he said “That is the unfortunate circumstance of our situation. The East West road was conceived and started from the Ministry of Works then transferred to the ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. But we all have to appreciate one thing. Such physical infrastructure don’t decay over night and the so neglect has continually put liability on us,

“Yes, its true that I met with the contractors appealed to them to go back to site, we have also been very conscientious in releasing funds as they are cashed backed to them to continue work. None the less, we are thinking of alternatives of completing that projects amidst the many issues that tend to be the undercurrent that are drawing back the execution. And such issues are technical and we tackling them. In due course, you will know the outcomes.” he said

On why he met the President, he said “For a while, he has not been around and there are things he needed to know from me and so I had to brief him on issues pertaining to the ministry, the projects that are going on and other anthropogenic issues that have to do with the general matters concerning the Niger Delta region especially, at they throw up some of the concerns bothering on who is right to speak for, who is not right to speak for and then issues of the Niger Delta Development Commission. All these occupied our discussions with the President today.”

Read Also: Niger Delta avengers threaten resumption of hostilities

November 6, 2017
Militancy: Niger Delta Leaders call for calm

Reactions have started trailing the threat by dreaded militant group; the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) to resume violent agitation in the oil-rich region, with some elders and opinion leaders of the region calling on the group to sheathe its sward.

The group, popularly referred to as ‘the Avengers’ had on Friday called off its unilateral ceasefire, warning oil companies of imminent bloody attacks on their facilities and personnel in the Niger Delta and citing federal government’s failure to devote serious attention to issues affecting their homeland.

But reacting to the development during a chat in Warri Saturday the spokesman of Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri Southwest council area of Delta state, Chief Godspower Gbenekama, while calling on the group to calm down and suspend plans of attack, faulted the federal government for not living up to its promises to the region.

According to him, the federal government had failed to fulfill any of the promises that led to the suspension of the hostilities, more than one year after meeting with leaders of the region under the aegis of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF).

“We admonish the avengers to sheathe their swords. Whatever is making them angry is justifiable. Oil is the blood of the nation. Destroying oil and gas facilities will do us no good.

“It’s one year and two days since PANDEF tendered the 16-point agenda to the president after pleading with the avengers. So why won’t they be angry? Perhaps the threats from the avengers will wake the FG up. They should remember that the avengers are not laptop criminals, but real agitators.

“On the Maritime University, nothing seems to be happening. The N2 billion, which is even small, has not been released. The Delta state government should also do something. The peace we’ve been enjoying is that of the graveyard because the FG is not doing anything to ease the problem. The EPZ project is on hold.

“All developments are directed to the north. Can you imagine the president telling the world bank to focus development in the north. Over 80% employment is directed to the north. Does the FG really have the intention to develop the Niger Delta? It’s our land, if we burst pipe line, it devastates the land”, he said.

November 4, 2017
NDDC to boost digital learning in Niger Delta

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) will boost digital learning by linking the entire Niger Delta with fiber optics that will facilitate internet penetration and spread.

Chairman of the NDDC Governing Board Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba stated this when members of the Governing Council and Management of the Cross River State College of Education, Akamkpa, visited him at the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt.

Senator Ndoma-Egba said the commission was making efforts to create a new environment that would bring the Niger Delta in line with the digital age. “We will challenge the creativity of our young men and women and we will also help our tertiary institutions to key into the modern ways of learning,” he said.

The Chairman added: “the world has gone digital and learning is now electronic-based. “If we don’t train for the new world, we will be left behind. So everything is technology-based now and we want to leave a landmark contribution at the end of our tenure. We want to link the entire Niger Delta region with fiber optics that will enhance widespread internet usage.”

Ndoma-Egba said he and the NDDC Managing Director, Mr Nsima Ekere, recently visited São Tomé and Principe to discuss with the country’s Prime Minister on the possibility of benefiting from their own excess internet capacity. He noted that the discussions were very positive.

He assured the team from the College of Education Akamkpa, that they and other tertiary institutions in the region would benefit from the proposed high-speed internet network.

The NDDC Chairman advised: “I want to urge you to look in a new direction of education, which is technology-based and driven by e-learning. That is where the future is anchored. I don’t want you to train people for the world that has passed. Let us train people for today’s world.

“I want to assure you that we will make sure that all your needs are looked into. We will attend to your requests sympathetically and urgently.”

Senator Ndoma-Egba maintained that education, being one of the core mandates of NDDC, would always be given utmost attention.”

October 30, 2017
The Green Shirts of Niger Delta
When T.Y. Bello (Toyin Sofekun-Bello) sang: “The land is green, is green, oh oh oh; the land is green, is green, can’t you see” she might have had the Niger Delta in mind. No part of our country is more lush fully green than the Niger Delta with its all-year round rainfall. Even in times of tragic oil pollution, some plants stubbornly sprout with their green coated in oil, as if to say, ‘this land is ours’

The irony however is that the rich natural vegetation of the region has not translated into food self-sufficiency or security. Like most parts of the country, the Niger Delta has become like Abdul, the man in the fairy tale who wants to get rich without working. Yes, oil is a rich resource, but as we know, it is a wasting one; not only will it not last, but also, its importance is diminishing daily with humanity finding alternative ways of powering energy and automobiles. In fact, future cars will be run on recycled water. This is why the government of President Muhammadu Buhari harps not just on the need for alternative sources of income for the country, but with its Green Initiative, backed by various programmes like the CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme and those of the Bank of Industry, point at agriculture as what would save the country.

When in July, 2015, I was appointed the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme with the sustainable reintegration of 30,000 ex-militants as a main target, I worked out in the back of my mind, the fastest and best way to achieve this. My conclusion is to let the Amnesty Beneficiaries blend with the greenery of the region by attracting them to return to culture the land and fish ponds.

This I also found as the answer to the federal government’s primary objectives in the Niger Delta which is to ensure peace and sustainable development. So apart from continuing the existing projects such as developing the human capital resource of the region through tertiary education, professional and vocation training and empowerment, my team and I took the sure turn to agriculture. We entered into partnership with various organizations like the Bio Technology Resource Centre, University Agriculture faculties and established farms to train the ex-agitators.

These seedlings we are planting are beginning to sprout. You can imagine my joy when on Friday October 13, before the chiefs, elders and people of George Town, Okrika, Rivers State, 20 young men in green overall stood before us, the mass media and the world, as I handed over to them a modern, zero-waste, integrated cluster farm. These were part of the 105 youths the Presidential Amnesty Programme had trained under the Songhai Rivers Initiative Farm. While their colleagues are being empowered with single stand- alone farms and ponds, this was our first experiment to group ex-agitators into cluster farms, register them as cooperatives and watch them become not just self-employed, but also employing other unemployed youth.

The model farm, fully funded by the Presidential Amnesty Programme which we handed over to the beneficiaries, has 30 ponds, one run-off earthen pond, 5000 bird poultry including broiler and layers, free range, cropping and processing sections, one administration and sales office, two feed stores, two implement stores and one control room.

I told the beneficiaries that they have a once in a life time opportunity not just to make a decent living for themselves and their families but also to employ a number of the unemployed. I also informed them that the Amnesty Office was further empowering them by handing over to them as a start-off package, 1000 fingerlings to 2000 post fingerlings, 100 Point of Lay Birds and an additional 200 broilers, 10 piglets and a crop section with cucumber, pepper, pumpkin and okra.

Perhaps the most critical aspect of this farm is that it is designed to be one with an all-year round production by running a staggered stocking and harvesting plan. With this, commercial sales have been programmed with the sale of eggs by November 1, and, smoked fish, broilers and vegetables in December. We opted that smoked fish, rather than fresh fish be sold, first to add value and secondly to make more profit.

I was also very happy with George Town which provided the land for the farm. I was elated when the traditional leader of the town, Chief Akuro Richard George said with this project, we had brought federal presence to them and that the project has established a bond between the George Town people and the federal government. His request that the Presidential Amnesty Programme establish a skills acquisition centre in George Town to cater for lots of unemployed youths is one that sits well with the Presidential Amnesty Office.

My happiness knew no bounds when the chairman of the ex-Agitators Cooperative, Emmanuel.T. Promise, thanked the federal government for giving them the opportunity of their lives to run a viable and sustainable business of their own. These are men who had picked up arms to fight the country, but who are now role models for their peers and are resolved to run their lives in peace and security.

The occasion further convinced me that this is the way to go; that this cluster farm which we registered with the Rivers State government as “Okrika Agro Farmers 105 Cooperative and Investment and Credit Society Limited” must be replicated in other parts of the Niger Delta. Already, we have 1,000 beneficiaries who have either been trained, being trained or are on the waiting list to be trained in agriculture.

As we continue with this, our attention is also directed at rice farming for which we have already trained 305 beneficiaries with two of them establishing their rice farms in Ughelli. My vision is to produce tens of thousands of youths in the Niger Delta cladded in their green overall and shirts, turning the region into a Green Belt and blending with the green vegetation. This is the beginning of what I call the “Green Shirt Movement” The Land is green and is becoming greener, can’t you see?
- Brigadier General Boroh (Rtd) is Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
October 26, 2017
NDDC pledges to fight poverty in Niger Delta

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has pledged to support the National Social Investment Programme, (NSIP) in fighting poverty, especially in Niger Delta.

NDDC Managing Director Nsima Ekere stated this when the Special Adviser to the President and head of NSIP, Mrs Maryam Uwais and other members of her team, visited the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt.

Also on hand to receive the NSIP delegation were the NDDC Executive Director Projects, Mr. Samuel Adjogbe, board members and directors of the commission.

The NDDC Chief Executive Officer hailed the Federal Government’s initiative in the social investment programmes, stressing that the commission would support NSIP in monitoring and working to fight poverty in Niger Delta.

He said: “Poverty knows no political affiliation or religious inclination. I am happy that NSIP is fighting poverty and striving to give hope to the poorest of the poor, who arguably, could be found more in Niger Delta that produces the wealth of the nation.”

Ekere said since coming on board, the present board and management had made efforts to return the NDDC to its core mandate, adding that the commission has as much as 8,000 projects currently ongoing.

October 20, 2017
Green Shirts of the Niger Delta

When T.Y. Bello (Toyin Sofekun-Bello) sang: “The land is green, is green, oh oh oh; the land is green, is green, can’t you see” she might have had the Niger Delta in mind. No part of our country is more lush fully green than the Niger Delta with its all-year round rainfall. Even in times of tragic oil pollution, some plants stubbornly sprout with their green coated in oil, as if to say, ‘this land is ours’

The irony however is that the rich natural vegetation of the Region has not translated into food self-sufficiency or security. Like most parts of the country, the Niger Delta has become like Abdul, the man in the fairy tale who wants to get rich without working. Yes, oil is a rich resource, but as we know, it is a wasting one; not only will it not last, but also, its importance is diminishing daily with humanity finding alternative ways of powering energy and automobiles. In fact, future cars will be run on recycled water. This is why the Government of President Muhammadu Buhari harps not just on the need for alternative sources of income for the country, but with its Green Initiative, backed by various programmes like the CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme and those of the Bank of Industry, point at agriculture as what would save the country.

When in July, 2015, I was appointed the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme with the sustainable reintegration of 30,000 ex-Militants as a main target, I worked out in the back of my mind, the fastest and best way to achieve this. My conclusion is   to let the Amnesty Beneficiaries blend with the greenery of the Region by attracting them to return to culture the land and fish ponds.

This I also found as the answer to the Federal Government’s primary objectives in the Niger Delta which are to ensure peace and sustainable development. So apart from continuing the existing projects such as developing the human capital resource of the Region through tertiary education, professional and vocation training and empowerment, my team and I took the sure turn to agriculture. We entered into partnership with various organisations like the Bio Technology Resource Centre, university Agriculture faculties and established farms to train the ex-Agitators.

These seedlings we are planting are beginning to sprout. You can imagine my joy when on Friday October 13, 2017, before the chiefs, elders and people of George Town, Okrika, Rivers State, twenty young men in green overall stood before us, the mass media and the world, as I handed over to them a modern, zero-waste, integrated cluster farm. These were part of the 105 youths the Presidential Amnesty programme had trained under the Songhai Rivers Initiative Farm. While their colleagues are being empowered with single stand- alone farms and ponds, this was our first experiment to group ex-Agitators into cluster farms, register them as cooperatives and watch them become not just self-employed, but also employing other unemployed youth.

The model farm, fully funded by the Presidential Amnesty Programme which we handed over to the Beneficiaries, has 30 Ponds, one Run-off Earthen Pond, 5000 Bird Poultry including Broiler and Layers, Free Range, Cropping and Processing Sections,1 Administration and Sales Office, 2 Feed Stores, 2 Implement Stores and one Control Room.

I told the Beneficiaries that they have a once in a life time opportunity not just to make a decent living for themselves and their families but also to employ a number of the unemployed. I also informed them that the Amnesty Office was further empowering them by handing over to them as a start-off package, 1000 fingerlings to 2000 post fingerlings, 100 Point of Lay Birds and an additional 200 broilers, 10 Piglets and a Crop Section with Cucumber, Pepper, Pumpkin and Okra.

Perhaps the most critical aspect of this farm is that it is designed to be one with an all-year round production by running a staggered stocking and harvesting plan. With this, commercial sales have been programmed with the sale of eggs by November 1, 2017 and, smoked fish, broilers and vegetables in December, 2017. We opted that smoked fish, rather than fresh fish be sold, first to add value and secondly to make more profit.

I was also very happy with George Town which provided the land for the farm. I was elated when the traditional leader of the town, Chief Akuro Richard George said with this project, we had brought Federal presence to them and that the project has established a bond between the George Town people and the Federal Government. His request that the Presidential Amnesty Programme establishes   a skills acquisition centre in George Town to cater for lots of unemployed youths, is one that sits well with the Presidential Amnesty Office.

My happiness knew no bounds when the Chairman of the ex-Agitators Cooperative, Mr. Emmanuel.T. Promise, thanked the Federal Government for giving them the opportunity of their lives to run a viable and sustainable business of their own. These are men who had picked up arms to fight the country, but who are now a role model for their peers and are resolved to run their lives in peace and security.

The occasion further convinced me that this is the way to go; that this cluster farm which we registered with the Rivers State Government as “Okrika Agro Farmers 105 Cooperative and Investment and Credit Society Limited” must be replicated in other parts of the Niger Delta. Already, we have 1,000 Beneficiaries   who have either been trained, being trained or are on the waiting list to be trained in agriculture.

As we continue with this, our attention is also directed at rice farming for which we have already trained 305 Beneficiaries with two of them establishing their rice farms in Ughelli. My vision is to produce tens of thousands of youths in the Niger Delta cladded in their green overall and shirts, turning the Region into a Green Belt and blending with the green vegetation. This is the beginning of what I call the “Green Shirt Movement” The Land is green and is becoming greener, can’t you see?

*Brig-Gen. Paul Tarela Boroh is the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

October 20, 2017
Buhari signs University of Petroleum Resources Bill

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday signed University of Petroleum Resources Bill with a pledge to continue to support the socio-economic development of the Niger Delta region.

The President made the pledge while signing bill to establish University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun, Delta into law at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Read: Igbo not marginalised in cabinet appointments —Buhari

He said Federal Government was committed to supporting Niger Delta region to achieve socio-economic development.

Buhari, therefore, appealed to communities in the region to strive for peace through dialogue in resolving all conflicts not only among them, but also with business entities and authorities.

It was reported that with the signing of the bill into law, the path has now been cleared for establishment of the specialised university in the Niger Delta.

The institution will be charged with training and research in petroleum technologies. (NAN)

Read Also: Buhari worried over unpaid workers’ salaries in states

October 17, 2017
Lawmaker laments poor state of Biase-Calabar highway

Mr Ogbor Ogbor, representing Biase State Constituency in the Cross River House of Assembly, has lamented the poor state of the Biase-Calabar federal highway and called for its urgent repair.

Ogbor expressed his feeling in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Iwuru on Sunday.

The lawmaker said that if nothing urgent was done to rehabilitate the road, the central and northern parts of the state would be severed from Calabar, the state capital.

He said that the bad portions on the road had become death traps for the motorists and called for urgent government intervention to save the road users from further agony.

Ogbor said the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) or the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs or the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) should repair the road.

“This portion of the road is a time bomb waiting to detonate; and when that happens, it will be too dangerous.

“This is the only major road that leads southern parts of the state to the central and northern parts.

“It is very clear that very soon all these heavy vehicles conveying petroleum products and food will cease to pass through this road.

“The thin layer that is remaining will soon collapse. If you look deep, you will see that the force of water is eating the inside of the gully.

“The economic and social damage that this road will cause when it finally collapses will be enormous,’’ he said.

NAN reports that the stretch between Mary Immaculate Girls Juniorate and St. Dennis Primary School, Iwuru, which is about 100 is almost impassable. (NAN)

October 15, 2017
Niger Delta: Every part of the country matters – Osinbajo

VICE President Yemi Osinbajo assured that Niger Delta people will benefit maximally from the wealth and natural resources of their land.

He said every part of the country mattered to the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

Osinbajo spoke yesterday on Bonny Island, the headquarters of Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State while inaugurating the construction of the strategic 40-kilometre Bonny-Bodo-Ogoni Road, conceived by the Gen. Yakubu Gowon’s regime but abandoned.

The road is to be jointly financed by the Federal Government and the Bonny-based Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Company Limited.

The vice president, who arrived Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa at 12:05 p.m., was accompanied by Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola; senator representing Rivers Southeast Senator Magnus Abe and Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr Dakuku Peterside.

Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade received Prof. Osinbajo at the airport with Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG) Chief Kenneth Kobani.

In Bonny, Osinbajo said: “November 1 will make it exactly one year after Niger Delta leaders, under the aegis of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) met with President Muhammadu Buhari, where he discussed the new vision of his administration with them.

“On my own part, I have toured many Niger Delta communities to tell them about the new vision of the present administration, ably led by President Buhari.

^{_{Vice President, Prof. Osinbajo was welcomed by Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade at the Airport}}

“Under the new vision, the people of Niger Delta will benefit maximally from the wealth that comes from their land. Every part of Nigeria matters to us as a government. What this country produces will be enough for all of us, if we manage the resources prudently.”

The vice president also stated that the new road would create jobs in and around Bonny and Bodo communities.

He said: “This road will create jobs for engineers, it will create jobs for artisans and it will create jobs for food vendors. The construction of this road will transform a lot of lives in and around Bonny and Bodo communities.

“The construction of this road will alleviate the suffering of many travellers to and from Bonny Island. I rejoice with the people of Bonny and Bodo over the flag-off of the construction of this road project.”

Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike reiterated that over the years, residents of Bonny were yearning for the construction of the road to link the coastal community with the upland areas of the state.

Wike was represented by Deputy Governor Ipalibo Harry-Banigo.

Fashola said: “This 40-kilometre Bonny-Bodo Road will have three bridges in between. A 1,000-metre bridge will across Ogbogbo Creek, a 640-metre bridge will be against Nabie Creek, and a 550-metre bridge will be against the Ake Creek.”

October 13, 2017
‘Those against NDDC projects in Akwa Ibom are enemies of progress’

Mr. Nkeneke Efo, former Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, is the Co-ordinating Secretary, Partners for Peace and Progress(PPP) in the Niger Delta. In this interview, he says the politics surrounding the projects of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, in Akwa Ibom State, is capable of impeding the progress of the area. Excepts:

First anniversary of NDDC Board

One year is so short a time to properly assess whether they have done well or not, but given the nature of the duty expected of the board by the people of the Niger Delta, I would say even a day is enough to asses them. The current NDDC board led by Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba and the management led by Sir Nsima Ekere, is probably the most popular of all the ones that have been there since the inception of the commission. Everybody seems to know there is an NDDC, especially in Akwa Ibom State, where the board was mostly seen through the activities of those who held prominent positions there. At present, the commission is seen more through its commitment to the fulfillment of its mandate. The current board has tried very well to change the narrative of the Niger Delta story. The story they met on ground was not good at all. The preface was still about a commission set up with a mandate to clear the mess of squalor, deprivation, degradation, inequality and lack of development in the region through planned interventions in areas like public infrastructure, health, education, agriculture and other areas that can aid it achieve the mandate.

You could call the NDDC mandate that of an alternate government for the region, a sort of helpmate for governments-local and state-in the region. Chapter one was filled with plenty of awarded and abandoned contracts. Chapter two was filled with financial and other liabilities running into hundreds of billions, mostly from jobs not completed, some completed but not of quality and some not even started at all. Chapter Three was an organisation with an agreed way of carrying out business as usual, with no care about whether the mandate of the commission was being fulfilled. Chapter Four was that of indigenes of the area seeing the commission as a cash cow that needed to be milked dry at the expense of doing what it was created to do. That was why elders could support youths to stop contractors on site and blackmail them and the commission into parting with funds that would have been used to develop the region. The Chapters in the book Ekere and co met on ground are endless but thanks to the new board, a new book is being written.

Some of the new Chapters has already been completely been rewritten within the last year. For example, the number of contracts had been streamlined. In most fora, the MD has said most of the contracts they met were not necessary and a lot of us know this is true. There is no need for some of the contracts that were awarded in the past. Even the costs of some of them were over bloated. I have seen a contract paper for a Water Supply contract – just overhead tank, reticulation and distribution to about a kilometer radius at N150Million. I mean just one. So, the Ekere management has streamlined all that. They have also cancelled non-performing contracts up to 600 in number and they are still cancelling. NDDC job papers were flying everywhere without any contractor on site. That was in the past. Now, I hear that if you don’t move to site in two months, your contract is gone. I also know that contractors who worked well but were owed are being paid. The days of people going to hold the commission for ransom and collecting monies that should have been used for development is also gone.

Quality of NDDC projects

Yes, the same political reasoning is prompting agents of government to do this.

Those actually politicising NDDC intervention projects are enemies of progress. For them, those bad roads the commission rehabilitated were better left undone. And the funny thing is, most of these roads were not accessible, some were in various states of deplorable conditions and mostly unmotorable.

And what NDDC did was carry out emergency remedial repairs on those failed portions which were unmotorable. You can read that on their signposts and even in the contract papers given to contractors who do the work. None of the contractors was told to go and construct a road. But some of them even go ahead to do more than remedial repairs. And because it is done by NDDC, they complain and fight development. Yet the same state government has a Road Maintenance Agency which carries out emergency road maintenance. How does it do it? By mostly patching potholes and areas where roads have failed. And nobody complains. The complaints by government is obviously political.

Like the one the Commissioner is making noise about, the Youth Avenue was already on going but the NDDC contractor stopped work at the start of the rain. When he went back to work, he was chased out by the state commissioner for Works and his agents and security. According to him, the Governor had awarded the job to a contractor on a Sunday when he came for a church service in the area. You wonder why a contract was awarded on a Sunday in church without an FGPC meeting and why on a road that was being done by the NDDC.

If I want to take them on, I will tell them to go and look for other failed roads and help carry out remedial repairs on them. In Uyo, there are so many. Not to talk of in other parts of the state. The Government has only done one complete new in Uyo, the Information Avenue which was started by Senator Godswill Akpabio’s Administration. The Works Commissioner, who is leading the assault on NDDC roads should say why, in two years, he has completed only one road in the whole of Uyo. He has a lot to do than to be bothered by NDDC roads and projects?

Why should he not be bothered about the quality of the projects?

Because he is not an NDDC project monitor. The Commission has project monitors just like the state government has. If the people of the area are bothered, they know how to petition the contractors to the NDDC. He could have as well complained to the NDDC, not to take laws in his hands and got to site to deal with a contractor that he didn’t engage in the first place. The NDDC also does not pay for shoddy jobs. focused on his duties.

What’s the way forward

The way forward is for government to partner with NDDC and NDDC to partner with government. On it’s part, I have noticed that the NDDC is trying to do this by helping government carryout remedial repairs on its roads and donating to hospitals, schools and communities. On the part of government, I see a cold shoulder. I have heard of rejection of assistance for hospitals. I have heard of rushed contract awards on roads earmarked for rehabilitation or construction by the NDDC. This is not good for the peace, progress and development of the region. The state government should do its own work and allow the NDDC do theirs. Quality assurance on its jobs should be left to the NDDC. Afterall, they are the ones to pay for those jobs and they have assured us that they do not pay for shoddy jobs, and we believe them.

October 13, 2017