The managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Samuel Ogbuku, has revealed that the commission’s funding has improved considerably under President Bola Tinubu.
Ogbuku said firms that were reluctant to make contributions to the commission earlier have been doing better after the President inaugurated the new Board.
Ogbuku who spoke in Asaba, Delta state, as part of the events heralding the 25th anniversary of the NDDC, said the new board was working in line with President Tinubu’s directive to complete all the abandoned projects in the Niger Delta.
He said the main focus of the present board was investment in agriculture and human capital development in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the president.
“There are contractual agreements that will bring about litigation according to the Procurement Act.
“If you do not pay, how do you tell contractors to leave the site? You do not just wake up to say you want to complete all abandoned projects. You must ensure you prioritise. The ones we need to collaborate with, we will do so. We have to collaborate,” he said.
“Good money has been paid for some of these projects. We cannot wake up and say we are chasing contractors. There are obligations, and those obligations are not what we are going to pursue.
“We have critical projects to complete. There are those we will collaborate with. We are still negotiating with some contractors and begging others to leave so that we can re-award them,” he added.
Concerning gully erosion in Delta and other states in the region, Ogbuku admitted erosion was one of the major problems in the Niger Delta.
“We are discussing with the government of Edo State on how we can handle some gully erosion. We are an intervention agency. We are undertaking heavy intervention. We are looking at erosion holistically.
“We are taking a serious challenge based on Mr. President’s directive. We must carry out this intervention.”
Speaking on his governorship ambition rumour, Ogbuku said he was only interested in the re-election of President Tinubu.
“I want to say I never told anybody I’m contesting the election.
“For now, Mr President has given me an assignment, and the assignment I have is to do the job of the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the NDDC. And my interest for now is to ensure that I have the concentration to do this job according to the dictates of Mr President to serve the people of the Niger Delta.
“If there is any election I’m interested in, I believe everybody will ask why. The election I’m interested in is Mr President’s reelection. Because of those who talk about running for election, if Mr President does not win, how do I win an election? So Mr President must win,” he said.
According to the NDDC boss, President Tinubu’s election “is in front of me right now. So all those politicians who try to distract us by putting in the newspapers and all that… Not only the politicians, even the people of the state who try to have some billboards trying to campaign on our behalf, I want to plead with them to convert that energy to campaign for Mr President for him to win reelection.”
