A pressure group, South South Integrity Group for Good Governance, has commended the board and management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for initiating far-reaching projects and programmes in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to the group, the NDDC Board Chairman, Mr. Chiedu Ebie, and the Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, have piloted the affairs of the Commission creditably well to the admiration of millions of Niger Deltans.
“Today, across the Niger Delta states, several abandoned projects are ongoing and in some cases completed. Our cities and communities are beaming at night because of the solar lights provided by the NDDC.
“The Commission has built and renovated several roads, bridges, schools, modern lodges for NYSC members and also opened up many creeks and canals to mitigate flooding and other purposes.
“As critical stakeholders of the region, we are very pleased with the unique performance of the two leaders and indeed the entire NDDC and we urge them to continue on this progressive path,” the group stated on Thursday via its Coordinator, High Chief Alex Alabo Nathan.
The group strongly condemned the purported planned protest by the Coalition of Niger Delta Civil Society Organisations against Ebie and Ogbuku.
Recall that the coalition had promised to start a peaceful demonstration against the NDDC leadership from February 26th across the Niger Delta and Abuja, insisting that both Ebie and Ogbuku are ineligible for their current appointive positions.
However, in a swift reaction, the Nathan-led integrity group described the coalition’s demand for the sack of the two NDDC chiefs as “wicked, unrealistic and retrogressive, considering the numerous achievements the Commission has made since their inception.
“It is disappointing, if not vexatious, that a group of sane human beings from the region want the two NDDC leaders to go despite seeing the tremendous work being done across the region.
“It is only the generality of the Niger Delta people that can demand the sack of NDDC leaders. Ebie and Ogbuku are more than qualified to be at the helm.
“Besides, their appointment by President Bola Tinubu was in line with the Nigerian Constitution and the NDDC Act and they have so far been discharging their statutory duties diligently. Thus any selfish call for their sack will end in futility.”
High Chief Nathan, in the statement, accused the coalition of being sponsored by desperate politicians and contractors who, he believes, are angry that for the first time NDDC is being run transparently without no conduit pipes for them to divert illegal funds for their personal use.
Nathan said his group will stand shoulder to shoulder with the NDDC leadership as it means well for the people of the region.
“We will not fold our hands and watch desperate people to thwart the significant efforts made by this current NDDC leadership to improve the lives of our people.
“We will also, from February 26th, be holding solidarity rallies across the region to profusely thank President Tinubu for entrusting the NDDC with credible leaders like Ebie and Ogbuku who have performed beyond our expectations,” Nathan stated.
The group urged the NDDC board chairman and the managing director not to be deterred by naysayers who are pretending not to see the duo’s numerous achievements due to their callous plan to have them replaced illegally.
He said his group will join other lovers of the Niger Delta to show unflinching solidarity with the NDDC leadership, which he believes has been the best since the creation of the Commission 25 years ago.
He assured Ebie and Ogbuku that “well-meaning Niger Deltans acknowledge the unprecedented achievements of the NDDC under their leadership and are standing solidly behind them despite the malicious intent to paint them black in the eyes of the President and right-thinking members of the public.”