By Ebi Kesiena
Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku has declared that the commission has no intention of clashing with, or competing against the governors of the Niger Delta states.
Speaking in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during the first day of the Niger Delta Stakeholders Summit’s pre-summit technical session, Ogbuku emphasized the commission’s commitment to collaboration rather than competition.
“We have no intention of clashing with or competing against state governors in the region,” Ogbuku reiterated to summit participants. “Instead, we aim to collaborate as development partners to facilitate the rapid progress of the Niger Delta region.”
The four-day summit, organized by the NDDC, aims to develop strategies and articulate a roadmap for the development of Nigeria’s Niger Delta region. The nine states making up the Niger Delta region are Rivers, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, and Ondo.
Ogbuku highlighted the commission’s focus on completing capital projects that add value to the Niger Delta. “Our commitment is to work together towards transforming the region in accordance with the eight-point presidential priorities and the demands of the NDDC Act of 2000,” he said.
Since its establishment in August 2023, the current NDDC management has successfully steered the commission away from past scandals and internal conflicts. The NDDC now operates under its new Triple-T policy – Transiting from Transaction to Transformation.
“The agitations in the Niger Delta region have moved from carrying arms to intellectual agitations where we tell governments what we want in the region,” Ogbuku remarked.
Other speakers at the summit include the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and a member of the Presidential Economic Committee, Patrick Okigbo. “One of the problems in the Niger Delta is that the region has been significantly de-industrialised,” Okigbo noted.
