The acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta
Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Joi Nunieh, has said the commission has
empowered its Project Assessment Committee to begin its visit to project sites
in communities across the Niger Delta region.
Nunieh stated this on Tuesday at the NDDC headquarters in Port
Harcourt when some chiefs from Kula in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of
Rivers State, under the auspices of Concerned Citizens of Kula Kingdom, paid
her a courtesy visit.
The NDDC chief executive officer said through her
findings in the just concluded contract verification exercise, the commission
had been able to reduce its indebtedness to contractors and consultants
considerably.
She declared: “We are ready to begin the projects’
assessment which will entail going to the sites as well as ‘name and shame’
exercise.”
Nunieh emphasised that the Interim Management
Committee (IMC), which she heads, would not succumb to the pressures from
contractors, who want to be paid even before validation of their claims.
The NDDC boss urged the Kula chiefs to support the
IMC and stand with the NDDC to ensure the sustainable development of the Niger
Delta region, noting that the story of the region would not be complete without
a mention of the contributions of Kula as an oil-producing community.
She said the assessment committee had worked out a
schedule for the visit of project sites in various communities, including Kula,
to inspect on-going projects, emphasising that no contractor would be paid without
evidence of work done.
According to her, “I want to assure you that we
will visit your community for site inspection. We expect your people to receive
us. We will look at the measurements and every detail of work done, and if they
are accurate, we will pay.
“I want to say that I am privileged to be at NDDC
at this time. The money for the execution of projects is not mine. It belongs
to the federal government, and if a contractor does well, I don’t see why he
will not be paid.”
Earlier in their presentation, the Concerned
Citizens of Kula, led by Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, appealed for the investigation,
reconsideration and completion of abandoned NDDC projects in Kula and other
communities in the kingdom.
In a petition signed by the Chairman of the Concerned
Citizens, Sara-Igbe and 18 other chiefs, they thanked President Muhammadu
Buhari for ordering the conduct of forensic audit on the NDDC.
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