The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, will soon commission the internal roads and the parade ground it built at the headquarters of the 6 Division of the Nigeria Army in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The NDDC Managing Director, Dr Nsima U. Ekere, said this when the new General Officer Commanding, GOC, 6 Division, Major General Musa Yusuf, paid him a courtesy visit accompanied by top military officers at the Commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt.
Ekere said that the NDDC and the Nigerian Army had a long history of positive relationship which had led to several infrastructural developments in the military barracks. He commended the new GOC for sustaining the development of facilities in the 6 division. He observed: “I am aware that the progress and developments that started with your predecessor has not diminished.”
He assured the GOC that the Commission would continue to support the 6 Division and other security agencies in the region to facilitate their operations.
The NDDC Chief Executive Officer commended the GOC for the peace currently reigning in Rivers State and the entire Niger Delta region. He said: “The region has been generally peaceful because of the activities of the army and this impacts positively on the nation’s economy. Anytime the region is unstable, it affects the national revenue. Now that the region is calm and peaceful, our oil production has stabilized.”
Ekere said that the Commission, just as the army, had been handling its affairs with dedication and professionalism. He stated: “when we came on board, we decided to sanitize the system. We came up with an ambitious restructuring agenda, which we refer to as the 4-R strategy. We started cleaning up the NDDC by changing some of the processes and focusing on completion of on-going projects.
The NDDC boss said that to achieve the objective of completing all projects, the Commission devoted 70 per cent of its 2017 budget for that purpose. “That is why a lot of the projects in the region are now being completed. In 2018, 80 per cent of the budget will be set aside for on-going projects,” he said.
In his remarks, the GOC 6 Division, Major General Musa Yusuf assured the NDDC that the change in command would not alter the good relationship between the two bodies.
He said: “My predecessor briefed me on the contributions of the NDDC to the infrastructural developments in the barracks. He also told me about the cordial relationship that has existed between the Commission and the army. I have personally seen the projects that NDDC had executed in the barracks. Some of the projects are actually ready for commissioning and we are eagerly waiting for them.”
He informed the NDDC Managing Director of the importance of assisting the military to provide adequate infrastructure for its officers and men as well as support its operations which cover the four States of Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta.
Major General Yusuf applauded the NDDC for cooperating with the military and the 6 Division in the provision of security and the maintenance of peace and order in the Niger Delta, adding that the military was mandated to fight the threats to security to ensure that there was peace for developmental activities.
According to the GOC, “we are all partners in progress in the Niger Delta and our role and that of other security agencies have been to provide the enabling environment for development activities.” He said further: “We are fully aware of the mandate of the NDDC to bring development to the Niger Delta region. We will continue to provide security to ensure that peace endures for development agencies to operate.”
