In a bid to achieve its vision of developing the region, the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has reached out to various stakeholders for their support and partnership towards creating a peaceful and enabling environment for its operations.
This formed the core message in a one-day stakeholders forum organized by the NDDC Delta State office in Effurun Thursday.
The forum which has as its theme, “Peace as a panacea for sustaining Development in the Niger Delta”, attracted various stakeholders including community representatives, youth bodies, women bodies, representatives of companies engaged in oil and gas activities, government representatives and representatives of traditional institution.
Speaking on the reason for organizing the forum, the Delta State Coordinator for NDDC, Dr. Ogaga Ifowodo, disclosed that the Commission has a lot in stock for the total transformation of the region as an interventionist agency, adding that the cooperation of all stakeholders was required for the Commission to deliver on its vision.
Also speaking, the Director of the Commission for Delta State, Mr. Gbubemi Ogor, emphasized that peace was a vital element in ensuring sustainable development of the Niger Delta, urging communities and other stakeholders to give peace a chance for contractors handling projects in their areas to do their jobs.
He disclosed that some projects of the Commission sited in some areas in the Niger Delta were abandoned by the contractors due to hostility of the host communities, adding that some contractors’ staff were kidnapped for ransom.
Guest lecturers who delivered several papers at the occasion were unanimous in their submissions that peace was a sine qua non for a sustained development of the Niger Delta, adding that to facilitate the process of peace, unemployed youths in various host communities must be gainfully employed by way of training them in relevant skill development.
Speakers also emphasized on the need for the Commission to properly monitor and supervise its contractors to ensure they deliver quality jobs, noting that poorly executed projects that could not stand the test of time, was also a source of hostilities by host communities.
The stakeholders also called on companies operating in the Niger Delta to devote sizable portion of their revenue towards the development of the host communities including creating employment opportunities for the youths to be meaningfully engaged.
The Commission therefore sought the support and synergy of the various stakeholders in the region to enable it deliver on its promises to the people.
It would be recalled that since the inception of the current Buhari administration, the NDDC has geared up its commitment to the infrastructural development of the Niger Delta area.
The Commission however disclosed that the forum will be organized regularly for the continuous interaction among stakeholders to move the region to the next level.
