The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has declared that it would get the best contractors to carry out the best projects for the people of the Niger Delta.
The Chairman, Governing Board of the NDDC, Ms Lauretta Onochie stated that the days of portfolio contractors and splitting contracts have ended.
Onochie, who decried that in the past, NDDC became a cash cow for the elites in the Niger Delta Region and beyond, vowed that it is not going to be the same anymore.
She made this assertion at a Congratulatory Dinner organised by Buhari Support Organisations, BSO in her honour, following her recent appointment as Chairman.
She noted that even though it was going to be a difficult task, President Muhammadu Buhari has made her appointment into NDDC easier, because he had ordered a forensic audit, and from the result, the nation was angst when they saw the quantum of evidence that were presented during the audit.
“We are not going to be looking at the forensic audit as a board, but we are going to do things differently. In the past it became a cash cow for the elites in the Niger Delta Region and beyond, and it is not going to be the same anymore.
“I’m very lucky to be a disciple of President Muhammadu Buhari, who everybody knows that he is being incorruptible, as he is a man that abhors corruption. And the way he has gone about running this country since 2015 has shown everyone that he means business when it comes to tackling corruption.
“We are going to stand with our people, as our youth are going to benefit massively, and the NDDC staff that have been long suffering in the region are going to have a new leaf of life. They are going to be retrained, rehire some of them as technical aides rather than looking elsewhere. We are just going to do things totally different.
“Our teeming young people, many of whom have graduated for years, and have no jobs. People talk about militancy, and why do people go into criminal activities is because they are not engaged properly, so we are going to train them and equip them with the requisite skills, so that they are able to get their own businesses started, and become employers of labour,” Ms Onochie explaibed.
Also speaking, Chairman, BSO Coordinators Forum, TPL Umar Shuaibu, who described Onochie as incorruptible person that has been tested and trusted, expressed optimism that she was going to be the game changer in the Niger Delta region.
Shuaibu, who is also Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, AMMC, said: “We know that a new Sheriff is now in town, God willing it is not going to be business as usual in the area.
“Our advice to her is to always stand strong, and affirm that belief and incorruptible nature of her to make sure that the right thing is done, and we have confidence that the right will be done in the NDDC. The Buhari Support Organisations will make sure the legacy of President Buhari’s administration is sustained”.
Several stakeholders including Dr. Mahmoud Moh’d Abubakar, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Minister of of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, Alhaji M.B. Shehu, Chairman of RMAFC, Dr. Nasir Ladan Arugungu, DG&NC AAPCSG, Alhaji Abdullahi Maikano, Head of Admin, Aso Rock, and Dr. Chidia Madueke, MD/CEO Nigerian Film Commission, NFC, in their separate good will messages commended the tenacity, patience and commitment of the new NDDC Chairman.
Highpoint of the event was toast, cutting of cake and presentation of gift to Ms Onochie as the Special Guest of Honour.
Confidence Okwuchi
