By Sunday Apah
The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, has stated that every area giving the interventionist agency a bad name has been sanitized.
Ogbuku, who made this known during a World Press Conference held in Asaba, Delta State, on Monday, said the transformation of the NDDC is built on the foundation of the renewed hope agenda.
According to him, “We believe that for the NDDC to progress faster, we need a lot more transparency, and transparency is what brings about probity and accountability.
“So, we looked at those areas where previous administrations have failed. We need to examine our contracting process and our procurement process. First things first, that is one area where people have accused the NDDC in the past.
“We decided to digitalize our procurement process to ensure that nobody can fake our award letters. Today, if you have an NDDC award letter, you will know that nobody can come back to you and say they were given a fake award letter.
“We decided to sanitize every process that was truly giving the NDDC a bad name, starting from procurement, and we digitalized it”, he reiterated.
He noted that an unstable board was also a major problem, where one person comes in to start something new, and because most times the politicians also want to shine, they start something new, and the new person comes in and abandons it.
Ogbuku commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for believing in them, giving them the task to make a difference, ensuring them of completing their term, and for them to account for their full tenure.
He further stated, “Mr. President has shown so much love to the people of the Niger Delta. On behalf of the Board and management, we want to say thank you for giving us this opportunity to serve our people, guiding us rightly, and using us to show love to the people of the Niger Delta.
“It is on record that immediately Mr. President assumed office as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the NDDC was one of the first boards he constituted.
“That shows how seriously he takes the Niger Delta and how he loves the people of the Niger Delta. After constituting the NDDC board, Mr. President did not only constitute the board and allow us to go and work; he engaged us and directed us on what to do.
“He directed the board and management of the NDDC to the Minister to ensure that we complete all abandoned projects and to ensure that we sign the performance bond,” he added.
