Education, housing, and food security are top priorities for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as it seeks to upgrade living standards in the region, but stakeholders also want investment that creates wealth.
The NDDC recently commissioned a 44-chalet complex it built for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in Otuoke, Bayelsa State.
The project, which is planned for the nine NDDC states, is meant to ensure corps members’ comfort and security and to help sustain the interest of young Nigerians in education.
Completion of ongoing projects
NDDC Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Bassey Dan-Abia, promised that all ongoing projects will be completed.
”The NDDC has metamorphosed from an agency that is determined to make a difference, to one that is making the difference.
“We are now a new transformational NDDC with a more cohesive and inclusive leadership, reaching far beyond the component states and always ready to collaborate with willing partners,” Dan-Abia declared.
He described the complex as the first of its kind in Nigeria, noting that it has 44 air-conditioned self-contained rooms.
The building, which can accommodate at least 88 NYSC members, is fitted with water heaters and other conveniences, including a large conference room and multiple sporting facilities.
Bayelsa State NYSC Coordinator, Anthony Ekeocha, who described the lodge as a “five star hostel”, noted that accommodation is one of the biggest challenges facing corps members nationwide and the “decent” complex will help them to quickly settle down in their primary assignment.
Contribution to agriculture
Dan-Abia also outlined the contributions of the NDDC to agriculture at an agricultural entrepreneurial training for farmers at Vika Farms, Uyo.
The NDDC is determined to boost agriculture as a reliable economic base for the country, he told the trainees drawn from the nine Niger Delta states of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo, and Rivers.
He said the NDDC recognises agriculture as the way forward, especially in the face of shrinking oil revenue, adding that Abuja did not wait for the crash in oil price before it formulated programmes which set the stage for people to go back to the farm.
The NDDC has a Credit and Entrepreneurial Development Scheme with a N1 billion revolving loan for Niger Delta farmers in partnership with the Bank of Agriculture.
It plans to revive the rice processing plant at Elele Alimini in Rivers State through private sector partnership. The plant process 180 tonnes a day.
NDDC board Chairman, Ewa Henshaw, disclosed in Calabar that the board at its inauguration on December 16, 2013 inherited over 7,000 projects and a liability of over N1 trillion, including interim payment certificates not paid.
He said in addition to this burden, the NDDC is constrained by inadequate funds, as over N800 billion voted for it has been withheld for years and the N45 billion accruing to it from the Ecological Fund has not been paid.
Henshaw solicited the support of Niger Delta governors to attract more funding for the NDDC, as it has since inception been getting 10 per cent instead of 15 per cent stipulated in the NDDC Act.
He added, however, that in spite of inadequate funds, the current board has executed several projects.
Dickson pledges support
Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, gave an assurance that his administration will continue to support the development projects of the NDDC.
Dickson described the programmes and achievements of the NDDC as a revolution that is in line with what Bayelsa is doing.
“I appreciate the NDDC and the partnership it is offering to the state. We affirm our desire to continue to support the commission,” he pledged.
He also expressed support for the call by Niger Delta governors to provide more funds for the commission.
Ayade wants investment
Even with the achievements of the NDDC, Cross River State Governor, Benedict Ayade, has advised it to consider investment options as it strives to hasten infrastructural development.
He told Dan-Abia and other members of the NDDC board who visited him at Government House, Calabar that investment would increase its income stream and reduce its financial pressure.
Ayade said he is not persuaded by the argument that the government should not be involved in business.
“If we took our time to look at how much came into the NDDC to date and if we have focused on revenue generation, focused on investment driven kind of models, you will have seen that we would no longer be depending on the government,” he stressed.
He sought more collaboration between the NDDC and key stakeholders, especially Niger Delta governors, saying even though the NDDC allocates projects on a sharing formula it still has an obligation to protect the interest of poor states.
“The people of Cross River State feel shortchanged because of the circumstances that befell us for no fault of ours and I thought that we would have had a particularly different classification.”