Niger Delta Ministry concludes inspection of NDDC projects in Abia

A team of government functionaries from the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs led by the Minister, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, has concluded their two-day inspection tour of road projects being executed by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the NDDC in the state.

Some members of the entourage included the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, his Project Monitoring counterpart, Hon. Obi Aguocha, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Dr. Shuaib Belgore and the Commissioner for Works, Engr. Don Oti . .

Speaking when the team called on the state Governor Alex Otti in Umuahia, the leader, Engr Momoh made it clear that the Ministry is not in competition with states but rather to collaborate with them to achieve meaningful development, stressing that there should be a robust relationship between the the states and federal government to achieve results

He explained that they were in Abia state to inspect projects embarked upon in the state by the ministry of the Niger Delta Affairs and the NDDC.

He lauded Governor Otti for the security in Abia at the moment and appealed to him to continue to make peace in the region a top priority for economic prosperity of the people.

Said he: “Your Excellency, you’re one person that everybody loves because when the issue of visiting your state was mentioned at the FEC, there was no dissenting voice. I was surprised that the Hon. Minister from this state (Abia) from the other political divide, she was also in support just like the president himself said yes, I think you’re generally loved by the people.

“From afar, we have also witnessed your developmental strides, I was reading recently and saw that less than a year that you came on-board, 10 major road projects have been executed in the state,” the Hon. Minister noted.

In his response, the State Governor Dr Alex Otti requested the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Engr Abubakar Momoh to mobilize contractors back to sites to complete abandoned NDDC projects scattered across Abia State.

He regretted that Abia is a major beneficiary of abandoned NDDC projects, noting that some other NDDC roads in the state were in deplorable States and needed attention.

According to him, the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the NDDC were important to the Niger Delta region and appreciated the Minister for visiting Abia for the road inspection tour.

His words: “I want to say that Niger Delta Ministry and of course the Niger Delta Development Commission, both of them are very important to us because these are two institutions that represent us at the same time even though we own one, that is the NDDC but the ministry we do not own.

“You also chose to inspect the road projects under you and under the NDDC, so we are quite pleased. These agencies are very important to us as interventionist in the normal course of the business of governance. The truth is that any road done by either the ministry or agency under you is a plus to the state and we will not go back to it.”

The Governor declared that the major problem that militated against the completion of some of the NDDC road projects was long outstanding debts for jobs executed. He therefore , appealed to Minister to take a critical look at the issue with a view to getting the projects back on stream.

He commended the minister for embarking on the inspection visit and assured him that Abia will partner him to ensure his goals are achieved. .