Stakeholders Summit To Develop New Strategies For Niger Delta Development, Says NDDC CEO

Dr Samuel Ogbuku, the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has assured that the Niger Delta Stakeholders Summit, scheduled for July 10-13, 2024, will develop strategies for the Niger Delta Region’s economic growth and development.

According to Seledi Thompson-Wakama, Director of Corporate Affairs, Ogbuku assured reporters during an interview at NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt that the summit would serve as a platform for articulating a roadmap for the Niger Delta Region’s sustainable development.

The NDDC Chief Executive Officer stated that stakeholders’ engagement was a key component of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, stating, “The importance of stakeholders engagement is to ensure that government projects and activities are well understood by the people.”

He emphasised the importance of providing people with opportunities to discuss development plans in order for them to embrace the renewed hope for sustainable development and support government programmes and activities.

Ogbuku went on to say, “Plans for renewed hope must be tailored. As a result, the public must participate in the process. Furthermore, the democracy we practise today is a participatory democracy, which requires the leadership and followers to work together to properly understand policies and programmes.

“Renewed hope means touching lives. This government wants to make a difference in people’s lives. Bringing the people of the Niger Delta together under one roof demonstrates the renewed hope for sustainable development and its benefits to the region.

Ogbuku stated that President Tinubu had directed the NDDC to complete and commission signature projects that would improve the lives of Niger Delta residents. Following this directive, he stated, the Commission recently launched five flagship projects throughout the region, including roads, bridges, and electricity.
He listed the projects as follows: “The 9km Obehie-Oke-Ikpe road in Ukwa West LGA, Abia State; the 25.7 kilometre Ogbia-Nembe Road in Bayelsa State; the 1×15MVA 33/11KV electricity injection substation in Amufi, Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area in Benin City, Edo State; the 45km double-circuit 33KV feeder line from Omotosho Power Station to Okitipupa, Ondo State; and the NDDC 6km Iko-Atabrikang-Akata-Opulo.

Speaking about the commission’s 2024 budget, Ogbuku explained that it was created in collaboration with major stakeholders, and that if approved, it would help to complete many ongoing projects spread across various communities in the region.

The Managing Director, who emphasised that the Federal Government was committed to addressing underdevelopment in the Niger Delta region, expressed satisfaction with the Senate’s passage of the 2024 budget, which would allow for the timely completion of ongoing projects throughout the region.
Commenting on the Commission’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative, Ogbuku attributed the completion of the Ogbia-Nembe Road to the benefits of partnership and stated that the NDDC was in talks with Chevron about partnering on the construction of the Warri-Omadino-Escravos Road to boost oil production and other economic activities in the area.