By Jackson Udom
The abandoned headquarters building of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), was on Thursday commissioned for use by President Mohammadu Buhari, just as he commended the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, whose ministry supervised the project, for sense of leadership which led to its completion.
Speaking at the virtual commissioning ceremony in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, Buhari went down memory lane on how and why the project was conceived in 1996 by way of land acquisition by the defunct OMPADEC, saying, ” since then the project has gone through series of design amendments and was eventually abandoned.”
“Today marks an important milestone in our administration’s effort at repositioning the region for the overall development of the Niger Delta people. To achieve this, I reassigned the supervision of the NDDC to the Minister of Niger Delta Ministry, Senator Godswill Akpabio, for administrative efficiency,” he stressed.
Buhari noted that, ” we put in place forensic auditors to review the operations of the Commission since inception to 2020, to ensure that appropriation made to the Commission were commensurate with what is on ground. I therefore, use this opportunity to commend the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godwill Akpabio for providing the required leadership that saw to the completion of this edifice.”
According to Buhari,” we are handing over to the people of Niger Delta, a befitting headquarter office complex for present and future use of its people. I also commend the Management and Staff of the NDDC, who keyed into the reform agenda of our administration. I am particularly pleased to note the cordial working relationship between members of the National Assembly and the NDDC Management and hope that this will be strengthened for the benefit of the Niger Delta region.”
Earlier in his speech, Senator Akpabio, hailed the President for his contribution to the successful completion of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) complex.
Akpabio who commissioned the building on behalf of the President described the successful completion of the building as, “A milestone which shows the commitment of the President to the development of Nigeria particularly the Niger Delta region.”
According to Akpabio, “I want to thank the President for the love he has for the Niger Delta Region and to say that, Mr President, this is a monument that stand to remember you positively.”
“The East-West road that you are committed to completing started in 2006 but together we have pledged that this time next year, you will also commission section 1-4 and the good people of Niger Delta will all be grateful to you. Generations will never forget you, Mr President.”
The construction of the 13-floor NDDC new headquarters building according to Akpabio started in 1996 but witnessed a slow pace of work until 2019 when President Buhari committed to its completion.
Akpabio also noted that when he visited the project site of the NDDC complex after he became Niger Delta Minister in 2019, he was told that no Minister – or even CEO/Administrator – has ever visited the site since 1996.
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