The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has commended the efforts of the Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Umana Okon Umana, for repositioning the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to actualise its mandate.

The chairman, Strategic Communication Committee (SCC) of NDDC, Nature Dumale, who spoke on Friday, also lauded the commission’s acting managing director, Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua. 

Mr Dumale recalled that Mr Umana vowed to deploy due process in NDDC, especially in awarding contracts.

“Over 1,000 contracts have been cancelled,” he said. “This is a right step in the right direction. This action will not be very comfortable for those involved, but I see it as a way of protecting the Niger Delta region and the NDDC.”

According to Mr Dumale, billions of funds were allocated to the region over the years with nothing to show for it.

“Last time I checked, multinational oil companies declared how much they give to NDDC as their support to the development of the region where they operate, and I was frozen in fear. I wondered if that amount of money entered NDDC, why was the region not transformed? 

“Another challenge is that contracts were awarded without funds to implement them. Procurement should be properly checked. Some of those cancelled contracts were those that money was released to contractors, and they did not go to the site.”

He commended the quick intervention of Mr Umana and the NDDC on the portions of the East-West road damaged flood.

Mr Dumale appealed to the region’s stakeholders to throw their weight behind the minister and the NDDC boss to enable them to realise their visions for the region.  

The NDDC chairman, also the national secretary of first phase ex-agitators, said their quick intervention demonstrated their passion for the Niger Delta Development.

(NAN)