By Daniel Abia – P/Harcourt
Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has assured members of the 4th Governing Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) that the Federal Government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari would comply with the laws guiding the funding of the commission.
Oshiomhole gave the assurance when the NDDC Board paid him a courtesy call at the Government House in Benin on Monday.
Oshiomhole said that unlike the previous administrations in the country, that the current leadership would enforce the laws concerning the statutory obligations of the Federal Government to the NDDC.
He said that the expectations of the people of the Niger Delta from the NDDC was very high because of the varied challenges facing communities in the oil-producing region, especially with respect to oil and gas pollution as well as environmental hazards.
He said that in its bid to tackle these challenges, the South-South Governors’ Forum would meet to articulate the way forward for the region, noting that the governors of the region shared a common passion for development with the NDDC.
Earlier in his presentation to Oshiomhole, the Chairman, Senator Bassey Ewa-Henshaw said that the activities of the Commission had been hampered by funding challenges, adding that over N800 billion of funds due to the commission had been withheld over the years, even as N45 billion accruing from the ecological funds was also outstanding.
He explained that the withheld funds arose from the non compliance with the Act establishing the Commission.
Senator Ewa-Henshaw said that the NDDC had since inception been getting 10 per cent instead of the statutory provision of 15 per cent from the Federal Government and appealed to the governors of the States covered by the NDDC to push for the proper funding of the Commission by the central government and the oil companies.
The chairman regretted that major legacy projects that would have given the economy of the region a boost had suffered because of inadequate funding.
He said that the current NDDC Board inherited about 7,000 projects and a liability in excess of one trillion naira, including Interim Payment Certificates (IPCs) that were not paid.
He said that in spite of inadequate funds, the Board of the Commission had recorded some remarkable achievements in the completion of projects and the execution of development programmes.
“We have so far completed and commissioned 5 university hostel projects, awarded 1,021 overseas scholarships for Master degrees and PhD programmes in engineering and sciences. Several other inherited projects are also in the process of being completed,” the chairman said.
Senator Ewa-Henshaw was accompanied on the visit by Sir (Barr) Bassey Dan-Abia, the Managing Director, Dr. Henry Ogiri, the Executive Director Finance, Engr. Tuoyo Omatysuli, the Executive Director Projects among others.
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