T he Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani, has enjoined the newly inaugurated board and management of the Niger Delta Development Commission to carry out their assignments bearing in mind equity, justice and transparency.
Usani said that the new NDDC board and management should prove the confidence reposed in them by President Muhammadu Buhari.
A statement by the Director of Press to the Minister, Marshall Gundu, said Usani gave the charge at the inauguration ceremony of the Board and Management of the Commission in Abuja, recently.
Quoting the minister, the statement said, ‘The position of this government is to guarantee accountability, transparency, equity and to make the citizens feel the impact of governance.”
The minister stressed that the challenges facing the Niger Delta people were too crucial to be handled with levity, saying, “I am formally inaugurating this board on behalf of Mr. President in the spirit of service and a call to duties.”
In his remarks, the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Prof. Claudius Omoleye Daramola, said that the appointment of the new NDDC board and management by the President was a call to serve the nation and not their individual pockets.
Daramola, therefore, called on them to improve on the ongoing efforts of the Federal Government to develop the Niger Delta Communities with a view to bringing an end to the violent agitations in the region.
He added that the NDDC board and management should ensure that they served the country without any prejudice to the extant rules and laws of the nation.
The new chairman of the NDDC, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba, thanked President Buhari for appointing the members of the new team.
Egba said, “We are determined to change the story of Niger Delta by making Niger Deltans feel the impact of setting up the commission.”
In a related development, the new NDDC Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nsima Ekere, pledged the dedication and commitment of the commission under his leadership to arresting the challenges confronting the region.
Ekere also called for innovation and efficiency from all stakeholders in handling the affairs of the commission.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Alo William, said as part of his commitment to ensuring total development of the Niger Delta region, President Buhari on October 31, 2016 announced that the NDDC should henceforth report to the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
William said that this development would give room for proper coordination of activities in the region.
However, the outgoing Acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, disclosed that the Niger Delta region would benefit a lot from the new board and management.
