Former President, Goodluck Jonathan, has warned that frequent changes in the management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) could hinder the successful completion of its project.
He lamented the NDDC’s inability to complete the projects commissioned in different parts of the region to improve people’s lives.
He spoke at the grand finale of the 25th anniversary celebration of the Niger Delta Development Commission in Port Harcourt, the state capital, on Saturday.
The former president said, “But something critical that I need to mention; Onyema Ugochukwu, the pioneer chairman, noted it, the frequent changes of the leadership of the NDDC have been a problem for the development.
“When we listened to the keynote address, Ngozi (Okonjo-Iweala) mentioned numerous projects that were abandoned.
“They were not abandoned because the managers of the NDDC wanted to do so, but the frequent changes made it that way. When you cannot plan, when there’s no time to plan, agencies that go to develop now resort to contractor-driven projects, not projects based on planning.
“From what the chairman said, over these 25 years, we have had 11 CEOs of the NDDC. That means that the CEO on average is two years, three months. So, two years, three months, how can you plan? How can you finish projects that are significant to the region?”
The former Bayelsa State governor commended President Bola Tinubu for retaining Samuel Ogbuku as the Managing Director of the NDDC, a move he said showed that the President was interested in developing the region.
He added, “And we are here celebrating this because he (Ogbuku) has stayed a little more than two years. (Former President Muhammadu) Buhari appointed him in 2022, I think November or so, but he resumed duty on January 4, 2023.
“Tinubu came on board in May 2023. If Tinubu was not interested in developing this region, he would have removed him and given the appointment to another person. He would have been just five months in office. Nobody would have heard about Ogbuku.”
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