The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has reiterated its commitment towards executing developmental projects across communities in the Niger Delta region to make life meaningful for the people.
The Managing Director of NDDC, Chief Bassey Dan Abia, who stated this while speaking with newsmen in Port Harcourt, said about 6,000 projects inherited from the past administration have almost been completed.
Dan Abia said the projects are meant to add value to the lives of the people in coastal communities.
Dan Abia, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Youth, Culture and Sports, George Turner, said the achievements recorded by the commission were made possible by President Goodluck Jonathan, who had funded the commission.
He listed some of the achievements in the past one year to include the completion of some uncompleted projects in 10 universities which include those in Port Harcourt. Uyo, Otuoke, Calabar, Benin among others.
Other completed projects are Ibelo Bridge in Akwa Ibom State, the Patent Road liking Ijaw communities and the road linking Niger Delta communities with Ondo.
He explained that over 280 youths from the area have been trained by the Maritime Academy as part of the commission’s efforts in reducing unemployment among youths in the area.
He further disclosed that 250 youths have been trained and empowered by the commission on the sale and pricing of VTU recharge cards, saying each of the youths was given N150,000 to establish after the training.
He said: “At the moment, no fewer than 3,000 youths are undergoing training on oil spill management, while another 45 are currently in South Africa for training on small and medium scale businesses.
“Another 270 youths are currently, in Cotonou receiving training and once they finish, NDDC will make available the take-off grant for them. We don’t train and abandon. We train, empower and monitor them.
“We also encourage our talented youths in the entertainment and film industry, who want to use their talent to make wealth. We provide them with the needed assistance after learning the art. The aim is to encourage the talented and the gifted.”
The NDDC boss, however, lamented that the commission is faced with the challenge of huge debt, adding that the commission had over N300 billion worth of Interim Payment Certificates which it had been unable to redeem.
He also said the Federal Government was owing the commission over N700 billion which he said was accumulated by the Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Yar’Adua administrations.
