Minister Cautions NDDC Board, Mgt. Against Indiscriminate Award Of Contracts.

Akaiso Akaiso, Uyo.

Henceforth, no Contracts in Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) should be awarded without financial commitment to pay for the work done.

The Honorable Minister, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Engr Abubakar Momoh FNSE, who attributed the huge debt hanging on the neck of the Commission to this mistake made by the past administrations, Management, dropped the warning at the opening ceremonies of the Board and management retreat just concluded in Akwa Ibom State over the weekend.

“It is expected that an agency such as NDDC whose budget is not envelope based but on statutory transfer, ought not to have a number of the indebtedness to the contractors as wẹ have today from previous managements.

“You must thrive to defray such indebtedness beginning with the least amount not lest than N30m and below”, he emphasized.

He called for collaboration with his Ministry and NDDC board and management staff in implementing projects which is the core mandate of the Commission to add Value to the lives of the Majority Of rural dwellers of the Niger Delta region.

According to him, the mandate of the Niger Delta Development Commission is in tandem with the agenda of Prẹsidẹnt Bola Ahmed Tinubu, hence the theme of the Board and Management retreat, “Renewed Hope: A New era for vitality, peace and Development.”

“Through collaboration and partnership with all the stakesholders, we will be in a better position tọ leverage opportunities in the region to expand intervention in such areas that sustain inclusive growth, security for peace and prosperity, agriculture for food security, energy and natural resources for sustainable development”, he maintained.

The Honorable Minister who supervised the signing of performance bond between the Board chairman and relevant stakesholders hinted that the aim of the exercise was to instill seriousness in governance as NDDC will nọ longer be business as usual. He said: “Your success shall be measured based, the need to sign performance bond with chairman based on the assigned deliverables to NDDC.

“Let it be known that the same bond had been signed between my Ministery and permanent secretary in the office of the Prẹsidẹnt, all this geared towards ensuring seriousness in governance.”

Chief Samuel Ogbuku PhD in his welcome address had pledged the New Board and Management will work hard in tandem with the Renewed Hope agenda of Prẹsidẹnt Bola Ahmed Tinubu by ensuring ẹvẹnly distribution development projects in the ruralareas across the ninè states that make up the region.

Regretably, out of the seven boards and Managements teams of the Commission, only two have outlived their tenure, so the long address of the MD/CEO and his unprecedented gesture of inviting the past chairmen and managing directors to be part of the retreat, all aimed at repositioning NDDC to move forward.