Presdient Muhammadu Buhari has commissioned the newly built 13-storey headquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The building which was virtually commissioned by the president, had its initial ground-breaking for construction in 1996 by the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission, OMPADEC.
Speaking shortly before the commissioning, Nigeria’s Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio noted that president Buhari has liberated the commission from infrastructural deficiency.
“The NDDC has added to the infrastructural transformation of the Niger Delta. It gladdens my heart to see to the completion of this project. It shows that, indeed, Nigeria can change with determination and focus. I have seen it here in the NDDC.
“Mr President I get a bit emotional when I watch the fact that it has taken you to come and liberate us infrastructurally. Taking cognizance that this thing is being done in a time of pandemic when many countries cannot pay salaries,” Akpabio said.
In a separate remark, the NDDC Interim Administrator, Mr. Effiong Akwa, thanked both president Buhari and Akpabio, for their determination to see to the completion of the new headquarters building.
“When the Minister came to inspect the project, he met a skeletal building. The Minister insisted that this project must be completed.
“The president agreed with the Minister and approved that resources be put in to complete the project. This is a big achievement for the NDDC and the supervising ministry. The transfer of the supervision of the NDDC to the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has paid off and the result is what we are seeing today.
“The contractor has done a good job and I commend his efforts. The media has a duty to inform the world that a new thing has happened in the Niger Delta region,” Akwa added.
