Bayelsa State
Governor, the Honourable Seriake Dickson has said that monies voted for the
Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) are being channelled to fund the
elections of ruling political parties in the country.
A statement by his
Special Adviser on Media Relations, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, quoted the Governor as
saying that the development has hampered the Commission's capacity to
actualize its mandate to bring development to oil producing communities.
The Governor made the
comment while receiving the Acting Managing Director òf the NDDC, Prof. Nelson
Brambaifa, and a high-powered team from the commission at the Government House,
Yenagoa, on Friday.
The Governor said that
that the use of NDDC funds for election and reasibs other than what they were
voted for, was unfortunate and should be a thing of concern to leaders of the
Zone.
The Governor joined
the NDDC Acting MD to demand the payment of the N1.9 trillion being owed the
Commission to enable it to carry out its developmental responsibilities in the
oil rich region.
Governor Dickson
called for effective collaborative efforts with the Federal Government’s
interventionist agency to design critical projects such as construction of
roads and bridges that would accelerate the development of the region.
The governor decried
the politicization of the NDDC and called for the immediate constitution
of the NDDC’S Advisory Council towards strenghtening the commission’s controls
and systems which he noted are presently lacking.
According to him, as
chairman of the PDP Governors Forum he will raise the issue with his colleagues
and the president.
His
words:"The NDDC is not a body that should be left on its own in doing all
kinds of things at its whims and caprices as it pleases. It is a very serious
body. It is a mechanism already designed in the legislation for the involvement
of other stakeholders and the most important stakeholders are the governors of
the oil producing states.
"We want to see
the NDDC fulfilling its maximum potentials and it has not been able to do this
as a result of the deliberate politicization of the NDDC.
The Commission
contrary to its founding principles, has become some political fund at the
whims and caprices of those who control the federal government.
“The NDDC funds are
channeled for elections, into all kinds of activities other the main reason for
which it was set up. That is very unfortunate and that has limited the capacity
of the body to impact maximally the challenges of the region which i find very
appalling.
"But it is
something that all stakeholders need to sit down to seriously address. I
listened to your call for collaboration for us to get the N1.9 trillion that
you have said is owed.
“But as we join hands
to ask that all funds owed the NDDC be paid, we should equally join hands to
demand for accountability, demand that projects that are conceived are not ones
designed for power brokers but projects that really have the capacity to impact
on the communities in need of development and so i call for a new approach.
"I call for
the new management and your team to be collaborative when you are designing
projects that you want to use scarce resources to fund. Don't just conveniently
sit down and be deciding and designing projects for our region and for state
governors, that contracts for water hycinths are more important than
contracts for the construction of lasting infrastructure that will support the
complete turn around for our people.
"I will like to
see the NDDC take up big projects. We are battling to take a road to
Ekeremor. We are battling to take a road to Oporoma and these are the big
ticket items which are the real infrastructural problems facing our people.
While acknowledging
the modest developmental efforts of the NDDC, Governor Dickson urged the agency
to prevail on the contractor handling the
Osekenike-Isampou-Agbere
road project to return to site to ensure its completion.
In his remarks, the
acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Prof.
Nelson Brambaifa expressed the Commission's desire to build synergy with
the state government to ensure human and infrastructural capital development.
The NDDC Acting Boss
had earlier called on the Federal Government to commence payment of the N1.9
trillion being owed the commission by the Federal Government which he said
would go a long way in the bid to development the Niger Delta.
He called for the
immediate constitution of a functional NDDC Advisory Council which according to
him , whole enable the governors to speak in one voice in asking for the
payment of all outstanding statutory obligations in the NDDC in order to fast
track development in the Niger Delta.
"The Federal
Government is owing us at least N1.9trillion and you know how far that can go
if that is made available by your body.
"The second item
is to use the window of the proposed review of the Niger Delta Regional
Development master plan to reflect the development vision of the various states
into the development compass and take ownership of the plan using it as an
instrument for integrated social economic development and regional economic
union of the Niger Delta, which I believe the governments and the people of the
region have been attempting through other avenues." He said
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