Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba has appealed to states under the commission not politicize projects coming from the commission.
Ndoma-Egba made this appeal when he led the NDDC board and Management team on a courtesy visit to Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State in Calabar.
He said the commission was begging governors in the region to shun politics and cooperate with it in order to engender development in the region, explaining that if there was partnership, it will facilitate development in all the states under the commission.
He said: “NDDC has been visiting governors in the region to build confidence because in the past, the reputation of the commission was not edifying and we are determined to change all of that.
“We have reviewed our projects in a way that will not make us compete with the states. We are appealing to governors in the region to shun politics and partner with the commission so that we can develop the region,” the former Senate Leader said.
The NDDC boss told Ayade that about 168 projects embarked upon by the commission in the state have so far been completed, 75 abandoned and 150 projects were ongoing in the state, while 7 projects have been taken over by other agencies of government and 2 terminated.
He however, said all the listed projects were undertaken by the commission before the present board took over, explaining that since coming on board, the commission has reviewed some of the projects to ensure that only those that will impact on the region were executed.
On his part, the state governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, while acknowledging the critical role the commission is playing in the development of the region, appealed for partnership on the super highway and the deep sea port.
The governor said the state was facing challenges because of low allocation, pleading that the commission could identify with the infrastructural plan of the state and key into the one that will impact on the people of the state.
Ayade said:“NDDC can be a rallying point for development in the region and there is need to revive the commission in order to make meaningful contributions to the states.
“Preliminary investigation has revealed large quantity of gas deposit and the commission should collaborate with this government to execute the deep seaport and the super highway,” the governor stated.
