NDBDA, PAP Form Partnership For Niger Delta Development

Prince Ebitimi Amgbare, the Managing Director/CEO of the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority (NDBDA), has extended a hand of fellowship to the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) to seek ways to ensure the Niger Delta region’s economic development.

During a courtesy visit to the PAP Administrator, Dr. Dennis Otuaro, in Abuja, Amgbare stated that the NDBDA was established as a special-purpose vehicle to drive development in the Niger Delta Basin.

However, when the Authority failed to meet its objectives, other interventionist agencies, such as PAP, were formed to address the region’s unrest.
Amgbare stated that the goal of his visit was to collaborate with the PAP office to drive meaningful economic development in the region, by the vision of the Willinks Commission of 1957.

He also requested PAP’s assistance in supporting the NDBDA’s “Food Security Is The Real Security” campaign.
His words: “My visit is primarily to forge synergy with the PAP office to drive meaningful economic development in the region by the Willinks Commission’s 1957 vision.

“The Niger Delta Basin Development Authority was established as a special purpose vehicle to propel development in the Niger Delta Basin.”However, when it failed to meet its objectives, agitation in the region grew, giving rise to other interventionist agencies such as the Directorate of Food Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI), the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC), the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

“My mission to PAP is to seek your cooperation in driving home the NDBDA’s “Food Security Is The Real Security” campaign,” Prince Amgbare added.
In response, Dr. Otuaro reaffirmed PAP’s commitment to addressing the Niger Delta people’s agitation through various development strategies, including plans to expand scholarship programmes to non-arms bearers, such as women, to teach vocational skills.

He assured the NDBDA boss that PAP was prepared to work with the Authority to address the region’s perennial flooding and challenges.
Dr. Otuaro praised Amgbare for his commitment to the development of the Niger Delta and promised that the two agencies would collaborate to achieve President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the region.
“I will not work at cross purposes with you in implementing Mr President’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the Niger Delta region,” he stated.