The first two weeks of 2015 witnessed an unusual flurry of activities in the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. It was not unconnected with the determination of the management team led by the Managing Director, Bassey Dan-Abia to hit the ground running in the New Year. This was evident in its crisscrossing three states of Ondo, Abia and Akwa Ibom, monitoring NDDC projects and insisting on executing them according to specifications.
The Chief Executive unequivocally stated that the era of the top echelon of the commission sitting in air conditioned offices day-in and day-out was over. He said: “the new NDDC requires that we move out of the office to inspect projects. We cannot stay in the office to develop the Niger Delta. We need to regularly monitor our projects to ensure that our contractors are working according to our specifications. I need to confirm that the papers I sign in the office are true reflections of what is on the ground.”
The people from the oil-producing area of Ondo State had often lamented that notwithstanding the level of intervention made by NDDC since its creation in 2,000, oil bearing communities in the state have had little to cheer about the commission in terms of major capital projects that would significantly change their lives for good.
Perhaps, it was the need to assuage the feelings of these people that informed the choice of Ondo State for the commencement of the inspections. The first port of call was the multi billion naira Ugbo-Oghoye Road in Ilaje Local Government Area of the state. The 21.4-kilometre regional road, with 4 bridges, would connect communities that were hitherto inaccessible by road.
There was excitement in the air as the NDDC officials were taken through the sand-filled portion of the road to the point where the pilling for the first bridge was on-going. The project manager of the contracting firm, Engr. Sciandrello Emmanuel was happy to announce that Barr Dan-Abia was the first NDDC chief executive to visit the project since they mobilized to the site in 2011.
Barr Dan-Abia, observed that the project was strategic and regional because it would link up with the Koko-Oghoye Road in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State. He said that the communities should thank President Goodluck Jonathan for making it possible for the commission to undertake such a gigantic project.
The NDDC chief executive did not fail to underscore the enormous challenges posed by the deltaic environment, prompting him to call on other Nigerians to show more understanding of what it takes to develop the Niger Delta. He said: “This Ilaje area is a typical Niger Delta terrain and I wish other Nigerians will appreciate the peculiar problems we encounter in the region. With this kind of setting, people should not be surprised that the cost of executing projects is usually high. However, we look forward to driving on this road to Ayetoro in no distant time.”
Barr. Dan-Abia commended the people of Ilaje LGA for their patience and understanding, especially for providing the enabling environment for the contractors to do their work, which he observed was progressing satisfactorily.
On hand to throw light on the construction work was Mr. Augustus Owowa, the project consultant, who gave graphic details of what it took to cut through virgin swamp land. “We have to fill up to 4 metres with sharp sand to stabilize the soil. Here we are working on the first bridge and we have drilled 63 metres deep, yet we are still coming up with clay soil. Such challenges will invariably lead to variations in the design,” he said.
If the Ugbo-Oghoye road is filling the swamps with hope and anticipation, the 10.5-kilometre Igbokoda-Orere Ara road is a dream already realized. The 7.3-metre-wide asphalted road with side drains, has already opened up new areas for development as the road has been completed. The joy and excitement of the people was written all over their faces. Barr. Benson Amuwa, the representative of Ondo State on the NDDC board was not an exception. He conveyed the satisfaction of the people for the road which has linked Igbokoda, the commercial nerve centre of Ilaje, to Orere Ara and other neighbouring communities.
He further said that several other communities in the area were looking forward to the commencement of the second phase of the project which would take the road to Orere Ara town and beyond and thus give the people the full value of the first segment that had been completed.
Barr. Amuwa also led the inspection of the 3-kilometre Ugbonla township roads also in Ilaje LGA. He said that the road, laid with interlocking stones had brought life back to the town, The Ugbonla Monarch, Oba Henry Ogunfeyimi, expressed delight that the NDDC had raised the status of Ugbonla and made it to stand out as far as basic infrastructure was concerned. He said he was particularly impressed by the quality of the 3-kilometre Ugbonla township road which he said had become a model for other rural communities.
“We thank the NDDC for giving us the necessary amenities that are now attracting our people to come back home. We are particularly grateful for the internal roads and the solar-powered street lights,” the Oba said.
In Akwa Ibom State, the NDDC team inspected several projects which included roads in Etinam, Ibiono and Itu local government areas. At the 15-kilometre Ikot Isong-Ikot Akpabio-Edemekpo-Ndoneyo Road, Barr.Dan-Abia expressed satisfaction with the quality of work on the completed section but regretted that the road was being threatened by erosion. He said that a ravine that has developed at a point along the road was not anticipated and was not factored into the design. He promised that appropriate action would be taken to protect the road from the threatening erosion.
The NDDC boss remarked that the Akwa Ibom State Government had raised the bar in terms of quality roads. “The NDDC cannot afford to do anything less. Although we are not competing with the state government, we will push our contractors to march the Akwa Ibom standards,” he said.
At the 10.1-kilometre Ididep-Ikot Odiong-Ikot Ibiono Road and bridge project, Barr. Dan-Abia said that by overcoming the challenges of hills and valleys along the road, the NDDC had demonstrated its capacity as an interventionist agency. He added: “The road traverses several communities in Ibiono which is one of the largest local government areas in Akwa Ibom State. Again, the road links up to the busy Calabar-Itu Road.”
The NDDC team also inspected the 12.4-kilometre Oko Ita-Itu-Mbak Atai-Oku Iboku Road, in Itu Local Government Area. The project consultant, Engr. Eyo Peters, said in spite of the challenges of delays in the payment of compensation to some of the property owners along the road, all other things were in place to facilitate the completion of the road very soon.
In Abia State, the team visited the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. There, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Henry Edeoga, appealed to the NDDC management to speed up action on the 522-bed modern hostel it is building for the university.
He said that the university had expected that the hostel would be ready for hand over late last year and had, therefore, admitted 6,000 students on the assumption that they would be fully accommodated. “The students have been on my neck over the accommodation problem on campus. They even threatened to pack into the hostel even as the remaining work on the building is going on,” the VC said.
The Vice Chancellor thanked President Goodluck Jonathan for directing the NDDC to urgently complete on-going projects before embarking on new ones, noting that the university hostel projects deserved to be given priority. He also gave kudos to the NDDC Managing Director for coming personally to supervise the project to facilitate its completion in the shortest possible time.
Dan-Abia assured the Vice Chancellor that the contractor would be funded adequately to ensure that the work on the hostel was completed as quickly as possible, noting that the commission had completed and handed over similar hostels in Imo State University, Federal University of Science and Technology, Owerri, University of Benin and the Delta State University, Abraka. “The university hostel projects are very dear to us,” the MD said.
The Secretary to the Abia State Government, Prof. Nkpa Agu Nkpa, commended the NDDC for helping to address the accommodation challenges facing many universities in the Niger Delta. He said that he was directed by the state governor, Chief Theodore Orji, to join the VC in appealing to the NDDC to quicken the pace of work at the university hostel in Umudike as the only university of agriculture in the region.
The NDDC inspection team had earlier visited similar hostel projects at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital which was virtually ready for commissioning, as well as the one at the permanent site of the University of Uyo which has also reached an advanced stage.
