The relationship between the Rivers State government under Governor Nyesom Wike and the the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has not been good. Under Ibim Semenitari as interim CEO of the NDDC, Governor Wike found excuse to lambast the Commission, especially over who did what road project in some parts of the state. Ibim, who once worked with Wike under the Governor Chibuike Amaechi, seemed to side-step what was regarded as hot rod.
Recently, tax issues caused a furore that is yet to settle. Now, the NDDC paid a courtesy visit to the host governor on Wednesday, July 24, 2019. This is at a time the two bodies seem to have no love lost between them. The Rivers State government through the Rivers Internal Revenue Service (RIRS) had sealed off the gates of the NDDC, but the Commission was said to break the seal to repossess the offices. The RIRS is said to file contempt proceedings against the leadership of the NDDC.
Before then, the Rivers State Government had accused the NDDC of collecting billions of Naira from them on partnership to build a hospital project but they neither did it nor refunded the funds. Wike thus grabbed the visitor by the jugular and demanded the refund within seven days.
Sources said there have been other feisty issues especially right to nominate contractors. It was under this atmosphere that the Commission paid the visit, but the media team of each group reported their own understanding of what happened. Some sources said one sounded like warfare, the other sounded like nothing bad happened.
Wike: Refund us billions or face court action (Govt House Report)
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has declared that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has become a political institution where funds are used for political purposes.
Governor Wike also stated that the Federal Government deliberately refused to constitute the NDDC Governors Advisory Committee because majority of the South-South States are controlled by the PDP.
Speaking during a courtesy visit by the Acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Prof Nelson Braimbaifa, the Rivers State governor regretted that the Commission has failed to deliver development projects to the Niger Delta region.
“NDDC has become a political institution where money is set aside for politics. Mention one mega project by the NDDC anywhere in Rivers State,” he said.
According to Wike, “The only mega project, the Mother and Child Hospital, which was to be a joint project, the NDDC duped the Rivers State Government. For the Mother and Child Hospital, we paid our counterpart fund and NDDC paid nothing. We have taken over the project, yet the NDDC has refused to refund our money. If the NDDC fails to refund our counterpart fund in seven days, we will drag the Commission to court”.
He regretted that any prominent politician in the South-South, who wants to be a governor, is appointed a managing director of NDDC. He said such politicians are allowed to siphon development funds, only to resign two weeks to the election.
The governor said that NDDC cannot make significant impact in Niger Delta Communities because the states are never involved in the sitting and design of projects.
He said that the NDDC can only make progress when the governments of Niger Delta States are involved in the process of project location and design.
“They have refused to constitute the Governors Board since 2015 because majority of the South-South States are controlled by the PDP.
“Nineteen years after establishment, the NDDC is still constructing its headquarters. All the participating states have no mega projects. The NDDC was designed to help the Niger Delta grow, but that is not the situation on ground. Can we justify the funds that have passed through the NDDC?” he said.
He said that the leadership of the NDDC is mainly controlled from outside the region, a situation which made it difficult for the current management to visit the Rivers State Government upon their appointment.
“You are coming because I have won election. You were on ground for six months, but never thought it wise to visit your Chief Host. The Rivers State Government gave NDDC a building and take off grant to start work. They told you not to come, but God in his own way ensured we are still here.
“It is a shame that what our people in the Niger Delta fought for is not what is on ground at the NDDC. You claim to have over 1000 projects in Rivers State and we are still where we are today?” Wike said.
He advised the management of the NDDC to go back to the drawing board to fashion out ways to site mega projects in the states where the Commission operates. He said the current piecemeal projects will not help to develop the region.
The governor charged Rivers people working at the NDDC to work towards leaving worthy legacies. He said at present, they are not helping Rivers State.
Earlier, Prof. Nelson Briambaifa, acting managing director of the NDDC, said that the Commission was committed to executing projects that will improve the lives of the people of the Niger Delta.
He said several key projects had been designed by the NDDC to improve the living standards of the people.
He called for the revival of the NDDC Governors Advisory Committee to assist the NDDC carry out its development projects in the region.
Briambaifa said that the Commission had undertaken 1,793 projects, out of which 800 have been completed and 540 are yet to be completed. He said there are 103 new awards.
The Acting Managing Director said that the Commission had set up a process to complete all ongoing projects in the region. (Source: Simeon Nwakaudu, SA Electronic Media).
NDDC boss offers partnership deal, waves N10bn project (Reported by Charles Odili, NDDC media)
Governor Wike has called on the NDDC to partner stakeholders such as the Rivers State government on landmark infrastructural projects that would bring development to the people of the state and the region.
Wike was speaking at Government House, Port Harcourt, during a courtesy visit by the Acting Managing Director of the Commission, the professor, Nelson Brambaifa, who was accompanied by Rivers State office Coordinator of NDDC, Tekena Flag Amachree, and directors of the Commission.
He said that part of the functions of the NDDC was to assist in infrastructural development that would boost the economy and bring lasting peace to the region. He added: “You should collaborate with each state government on two major projects that would benefit our people.”
Wike advised the NDDC boss to ensure he writes his name in gold by ensuring that he embarks on projects and programmes that would bring positive impact on the people during his tenure, saying: “The only way you would be remembered by the people of the region by the time you leave office is by the projects that touched the people of the region positively.”
Earlier in his address titled ‘Together, We Can Do More’, the Professor Brambaifa admitted that the challenge of developing the Niger Delta Region was herculean, but surmountable, stressing that NDDC was seeking to partner with the Rivers State Government, as well as other stakeholders, “in order to secure lasting peace, security and development in the region.”
Brambaifa disclosed that a total of 1,793 projects have been awarded by the Commission in Rivers State out of which 800 had been completed; 296 projects were yet to commence. He disclosed that the construction of Kaa-Ataba Road and bridges valued at over N10 billion, was ongoing, adding that a committee had been set up to facilitate the completion of projects, for the benefit of the communities.
“This 4.72 kilometer road with three bridges, will improve the quality of life of the people of Kaa and Ataba, as well as help in transporting farm produce, goods and properties from this rich agricultural area. Even more importantly, it will reduce accidents and security breaches associated with water transport,” he said.
Brambaifa appealed to the Governor to assist in the revival of the Commission’s Niger Delta Regional Development Masterplan (NDRDMP) and the Partners for Sustainable Development (PSD) Forum which he said were produced by all stakeholders of the Niger Delta to bring lasting peace, security and infrastructural development to the region.
Ignatius Chukwu
