…as debt profile hits N300 billion
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The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, is to be restructured into a development agency to be manned by core professionals rather than politicians.
The Presidency recently relieved Dr. Henry Ogiri, Executive Director, Finance, and Tuoyo Omatsuli, Executive Director, Projects in the NDDC of their appointments, paving the way for the newly-appointed acting MD, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, to run the agency alone in the interim.
The removal two weeks ago, completes the sack of the board, which was empanelled by President Goodluck Jonathan in December 2013.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, whose office supervises the commission, confirmed in a telephone chat that the Federal Government would beam its searchlight on the activities of the commission ensure it serves the needs of the region better.
Describing the NDDC as being in bad shape, Lawal lamented that the debt profile of the agency, which he said had not done much to transform the Niger Delta since its inception, had risen to N300 billion due to many contracts yet to be completed.
Lawal regretted that the organisation had lost its focus of serving primarily as a strategic development vehicle but served more as a political organisation.
The SGF said: “We have to reorganise NDDC to serve as a strategic development organisation to be able to address the peculiar needs of the region and its people.
On the complaints by some of the nine states that they had been marginalised by the sacking of their indigines on the board, the SGF said the action was a temporary one and assured that none of the states would be short-changed
