The management board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, says it has resolved to change the narrative that the commission is a conduit pipe connected by some people to embezzle funds to enrich themselves.
The Rivers State representative on the Management Board of the NDDC, Tony Okocha, also said the current board has moved away from the internal squabbles that have made the interventionist agency unable to achieve the purpose for which it was established.
Okocha, who spoke when the NDDC distributed relief materials to flood victims in eight local government areas of Rivers State on Friday in Port Harcourt, assured that the NDDC under this current leadership will be responsive to the people of the Niger Delta.
He said the relief materials are to mitigate the impact of the flood on the people.
“As a board, we have decided that we are going to change the hitherto negative trajectory, the negative narrative akin to the Niger Delta Development Commission before now.
“Those negative trajectories pointed to the fact that NDDC was merely a cash cow.
“Some said the NDDC lame duck was not able to churn out or produce the essence of which it was established.
“Some said NDDC is a conduit connected by some individuals to siphon funds and criminally enrich themselves and all of those.
“It is the reason why when this board headed by Barr Chiedu Ebie (Chairman) and the Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, was set up, we on our own sat down and decided amongst others that one, we must change that trajectory from negative to positive.
“We have said to ourselves that NDDC was created in 2000 via an act of parliament to fight poverty and underdevelopment in the Niger Delta region, though as an interventionist agency.”
Speaking further, the NDDC state rep noted that the gesture by the Commission is in line with the renewed hope mantra of President Bola Tinubu in ensuring the welfare of the people.
He said, “Today is one of those demonstrations of the President’s responsiveness to the people of Nigeria, particularly the President, to empathise through NDDC with our people who suffer devastation arising from environmental factors. They call them flood victims.
“Today the President, through NDDC, has assembly palliatives, materials that will be of use to our brothers and sisters who suffer devastation for what they didn’t know about. You are all aware that flooding is an environmental issue.
The local government areas that benefited from the palliatives include Ahoada East, Ahoada West, Andoni, Gokana, Asari-Toru, Tai, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni and Abua LGAs.
DAILY POST reports that each LGA was given 3 trucks loaded with different items, including food items, blankets, treated mosquito nets, fishing nets, mattresses, shovels, wheelbarrows, etc.
Speaking on behalf of the representatives of the LGAs benefiting from the relief materials, the Chairman of Ahoada West Local Government Area, Hope Ikiriko, commended President Tinubu and NDDC Board for the gesture.
We are changing negative narratives about NDDC – Okocha
