The Niger Delta Development Commission has restated its dedication to ongoing stakeholder engagement in order to foster synergy for the region’s sustainable development.
The NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, made this statement in a statement released on Monday by the Director of Corporate Affairs, Pius Ughakpoteni, at the special ceremony held in the Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State to honour the Amanyanabo of Okochiri Kingdom, King Ateke Tom. The ceremony was organized by the Okrika Council of Chiefs and the people of Okrika according to The PUNCH.
In order to create a powerful coalition of development partners, Ogbuku, who was accompanied by Executive Director of Projects at the NDDC, Sir Victor Antai, said that “The commission was fostering strong partnerships and interacting with stakeholders including traditional rulers.
“Our focus is on legacy projects that have the potential to significantly alter the Niger Delta and our ecosystem in the long run. The only way we can secure our people’s sustained growth and inspire optimism in them is to shift from transactional to transformational development,” stated Ogbuku.
According to the head of the NDDC, the commission had seized the initiative in an attempt to alter history and realize the aspirations of everyone who had battled and was still fighting for a better Niger Delta.
Ogbuku stated that “The Niger Delta stakeholders would be satisfied with the NDDC because it would create a commission that works in their best interest, and, in doing so, we would drive the vision of all whose dreams of a better Niger Delta region.”
The Rivers State governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, addressed the assembly and declared that the Amayanabo of Okochiri’s stool had been upgraded from second-class to first-class status.
In his welcoming address, a former Federal Minister of Transport, Chief Abiye Sekibo, stated that the Wakirike people had come together to commemorate one of its own.
He said that the current state of peace in the Niger Delta and other areas was largely due to King Ateke Tom.
