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…As Ogbuku Recommits To Development
Former governor of Bayelsa state,(now senator representing Bayelsa West senatorial district), Seriake Dickson have urged states of the Niger Delta region to partner the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), to fast track the developmental processes of the region.
The federal lawmaker gave the charge weekend at Ayakoro community, home town of the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO), of the NDDC, Dr Samuel Ogbuku in the Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa state.
He gave the charge while speaking as Special Guest of honour at the 2024 edition of the community’s annual cultural celebration, ‘Eyal Obein’.
Dickson commended the community for the preservation of her cultural heritage, saying that a people without culture are likened to one without history.
The Bayelsa ex- governor who also lauded the NDDC’s MD on the achievements of the commission under his stewardship said he was impressed with the performance of the interventionist agency under the leadership of Dr Samuel Ogbuku, noting that the latter and his team have shown capacity and love for the Niger Delta region through their sterling performance in projects execution and policy implementation.
The Ayakoro community’s ‘Eyal Obein’ is an aged-long cultural festival held annually to commemorate the relocation of the community from their old settlement to their present abode due to devastating erosion.
National Wire learnt that the 2024 edition makes it 66th years since the community commenced the commemoration of the annual event.
Dickson said: “The NDDC under the stewardship of Dr Samuel Ogbuku is doing well. Ogbuku and his team are carrying out the mandate of the NDDC meritoriously well.
“I want to thank Ogbuku for remembering that he came from a place. The projects I’ve seen in this community and other parts of the Niger Delta, including my home town, especially the solar powered lights and others clearly shows that Ogbuku knows where he came from. It shows that he’s completely linked with his people at home”, Dickson said.
Speaking to Newsmen shortly after the event, the NDDC boss, Dr Samuel Ogbuku said the commission under his stewardship was recommited to ensuring that projects awarded and executed by the commission have direct impacts on their benefiting communities.
He said the era of stalled projects was over, noting however, that the commission will no longer condone the habit whereby some communities act as encumbrances to contractors handling projects in their domain.
The NDDC MD warned that contracts awarded to communities which impede their peaceful execution may be relocated, saying that no place can develop devoid of peace and cooperation.
He said: “Ayakoro is a very peaceful community, and so, here projects are flourishing. There’s never been any encumbrance to any project awarded here. My advise to communities is that they should be peaceful and cooperate with contractors executing projects in their domain.
” A situation where communities impose all sort of conditions on contractors executing projects in their communities would no longer be accepted.
“However, we’ll also not allow contractors to exploit communitjes when executing their projects. In the event that there are unnecessary encumbrances from communities on the execution of projects in their domain, then it’s clear that such community(ies) do not want the project, and so the NDDC may be forced to relocate projects like that”.
Meanwhile, in her remarks, Guest of honour and Permanent Secretary, Bayelsa State Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Mrs Koroye Tonye Enebimere has promised government’s continuous support for cultural celebration to grow the tourism and hospital sectors of the state.
Earlier in his welcome address, paramount ruler of the community, HRH Righteous Inegbagha gave a brief history of the cultural festival.
He commended founding fathers and the present generation of the community for their resilience and dedication to the growth and development of the community.
