Sen Ekong charges new NDDC board to tackle the problems of the region

By Haruna Salami

The Senator representing Akwa Ibom South, Ekong Sampson has called on the just confirmed management and board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to go to the roots of the problems of the Niger Delta and tackle them.

Speaking shortly after the Senate confirmed the 17-man management team, Senator Sampson said the new team should “go back to the drawing board to study in detail the problems of the Niger Delta; do deep self-evaluation to find out the missing link; those gaps must be filled”.

He said the interventionist challenges that made the establishment of the NDDC imperative in the first place must be looked at closely to avoid the abandoned projects syndrome, adding that “unnecessary politicization of the NDDC is part of the problem”.

“The challenge of addressing the gaps must begin with the need to insulate the Commission from politicking and politics. When NDDC is too steeped in politics and undue politicization, that is where the problem is.

“We must put in place necessary mechanisms to insulate the Commission from politics and political interference”.

Senator Sampson was full of gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for nominating two candidates: Mr. Victor Antai (Executive Director, Projects) and Mr. Abasi Ndikan Nkono (State Rep) from Akwa Ibom on the board and management of the NDDC.

He also thanked the Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the Governor of Akwa Ibom state, Mr. Umo Eno for “working together in bipartisan way in the bigger interest of Akwa Ibom state”.

While underscoring the importance of the NDDC to Akwa Ibom state, Senator Sampson expressed confidence that the two members of the board from the state who he referred to as “work machines, with a lot of experience in management, complete team players, who understand the challenges of the Niger Delta” will add value to the job.