Gov Otti Wants Niger Delta Ministry, NDDC To Mobilise Contractors Back To Sites

Dr. Alex Otti, Governor of Abia State, has asked the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to return contractors to the site to complete abandoned projects being carried out by the ministry and agencies throughout the state.

The Governor spoke on Wednesday while receiving the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, and his team, who came to Abia to inspect road and other Ministry and NDDC projects.

Otti, in a statement issued by Kazie Uko, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, attributed the primary reason for abandoned NDDC projects to outstanding debts owed contractors and urged the Minister to assist in resolving payment issues.

“Abia State is a major beneficiary of abandoned NDDC projects, and there is one, just around here (in Isialangwa South) that goes all the way to the Expressway. The reason for abandonment was that they (the contractors) were being owed, since 2018.

“I am sure that the details can be provided for you to get them to come back to work.

“There are others around Umuahia, around Aba, and if we can get them to come back to work, I would really appreciate it, but the major issue is about payment.

“Sometimes in the past, it was like a herculean task to get paid when handling NDDC project, so if you can look into it, you can get alot of the projects that were abandoned back to life,” Governor Otti said.

The Governor emphasised the importance of both the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the NDDC to Abia State. He expressed his appreciation to the Minister for visiting Abia to see things for himself.

“I want to say that Niger Delta Ministry and of course the Niger Delta Development Commission, both of them are very important to us because these are two institutions that represent us at the same time even though we own one, that is the NDDC but the ministry we do not own.

“You also chose to inspect the road projects under you and under the NDDC, so we are quite pleased. These agencies are very important to us as interventionist in the normal course of the business of governance. The truth is that any road done by either the ministry or agency under you is a plus to the state and we will not go back to it,” the Governor said.

Earlier in his speech, the Minister said he and his team were in Abia to inspect projects by the ministry of the Niger Delta Affairs and the NDDC.

He lauded Governor Otti for the huge infrastructural development and improved security situation witnessed in Abia within a short period of his assumption of office, and appealed to him to continue to make peace in the state and region a top priority for economic prosperity of the people.

He said the Ministry of Niger Delta is not in competition with the NDDC states but would collaborate with them to achieve meaningful development, adding that there should be a robust relationship between the two to achieve results.

“Your Excellency, you’re one person that everybody loves because when the issue of visiting your state was mentioned there was no dissenting voice. I was surprised that the Hon. Minister from this state (Abia) from the other side of the political spectrum (opposition party) agreed with the president. I think you’re generally loved by the people.

“From afar, we have also witnessed your developmental strides, I was reading recently and saw that less than a year that you came onboard, 10 major road projects have been executed in the state,” the Minister noted.

Hon. Dimbiagwu Okechukwu, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta Affairs; his Project Monitoring counterpart, Hon. Obi Aguocha; Dr. Shuaib Belgore, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs; and many others were among those in attendance.