Governor Okowa urges President Buhari to reconstitute NDDC board
Delta state governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to reconstitute the board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), saying that instability in the commission’s board has contributed to the systemic institutional failure of the agency.
Okowa, who is the chairman, South-South Governors’ Forum, made the call in Asaba, the Delta state capital on Thursday, December 3 at the launch of a book written by Dr. Michael Tidi, who is the chairman of Warri South local government council.
The governor opined that the president should constitute an NDDC board that would be accountable and eliminate politicization of the interventionist agency, adding that it was time for Niger Delta people to collectively talk about the commission.
The governor also stated that aside from the stipends being paid to some ex-militants under the amnesty programme, the federal government should also empower the people on skill acquisition and set them up as real entrepreneurs. According to him, the federal government ought to find a pathway for those trained, because many of the skill acquisition centers being built have been abandoned.
He also deplored the attitude of some persons saddled with the management of agencies and programmes established for the development of the Niger Delta, saying some of there go there for the wrong reasons.
He added: “Our people must realise that we cannot continue to play politics with what we say or do. Recently in Port Harcourt, we called for resource control and restructuring because the constitution as it is now, cannot develop the country.” Recall that Governor Okowa recently identified rising insecurity, poor power supply as the bane of industrialisation, and economic growth in Nigeria.
The governor stated this on Thursday, August 27 at an interdenominational thanksgiving service to mark the 29th anniversary of the creation of Delta state at the Cathedral Church of St. Peter (Anglican Communion), Bishops Court, Asaba. He thanked religious leaders for their prayers for the state and the people, stressing that with the policies put in place by his government, brighter days lie ahead for the people.
To ensure his promise to Deltans is kept, Governor Okowa on Friday, August 28 inaugurated the state’s economic council, with a charge to the members to institute strong, credible, and enduring platforms for diversification of the economy, including enhancing business competitiveness.
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