NDDC expedites completion of N24.5 billion Ogbia-Nembe Road

The N24.5 billion Ogbia-Nembe Road in Bayelsa State is nearing completion as the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has decided to fast-track the project.
This was made known by the commission’s Acting Managing Director, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, during a courtesy visit by members of the Bayelsa State Executive of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt.
According to Mrs. Semenitari, the NDDC was committed to the speedy completion of the 27-kilometre Ogbia-Nembe Road, which it was constructing in partnership with the Shell Development Company, SPDC. She said that the Ogbia-Nembe section of the road, with six bridges and more than 50 culverts across very difficult terrain, was only the first phase of a project that would eventually terminate in Brass.
The NDDC boss said that her mandate from President Muhammadu Buhari was to quicken the pace of development in the Niger Delta, adding that the President had demonstrated his sincerity in changing the face of the region by increasing the inflow of funds for development purposes. She said that between June and December, 2015, the President authorized the release of N22 billion for the development of the region as against the N15 billion that was released in the first half of the year.
Mrs. Semenitari assured the visiting Bayelsa APC chieftains that the NDDC would re-activate the construction of the prototype modern hostel at the Niger Delta University in Wilberforce Island, as well as step up work on other major projects that have suffered delays in the past.
She stated that the commission was taking a cue from President Buhari who had shown that he was receptive to all good ideas irrespective of the political leanings of those who hold them. She added that governance was a collective responsibility and as such, all stakeholders were expected to partner with the NDDC to achieve good results for the benefit of the people of the Niger Delta.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Executive of the APC, Chief Timipa Orunimighe, described the appointment of Mrs. Semenitari as the Acting Managing Director of the NDDC as a blessing, noting that the agenda of President Buhari would be fully realized with her in the saddle.
He said that the APC in Bayelsa State recognized the important role of the NDDC in the infrastructural development of the Niger Delta region. “As a party, we are a critical stakeholder and coming from Bayelsa State, we have a special interest in the development of the region,” the chairman said.