THE Governor of Edo State, Adams
Oshiomhole, has assured the Niger Delta Development Commission that
President Muhammadu Buhari will stop the problem of the commission’s
poor funding.
Oshiomhole explained that the current
leadership in the country would enforce the statutory obligations of the
Federal Government to the NDDC, unlike previous administrations.
He added that Buhari will comply with the laws guiding the funding of the commission.
The governor spoke at the Government
House in Benin while receiving members of the Board of the commission
who paid him a courtesy visit on Monday.
In a statement signed by the Head,
Corporate Affairs of the NDDC, Mr. Toye Abosede, and issued in Port
Harcourt on Tuesday, Oshiomhole explained that the people of the Niger
Delta region were expecting much from the commission as a result of the
challenges facing them.
He
pointed out that the people of the oil-rich region were still facing
the problem of oil pollution and other forms of environmental hazards.
He said, “The current leadership of the
country, unlike the previous administrations, will enforce the laws
concerning the statutory obligations of the Federal Government to the
NDDC.
“The expectation of the people of the
Niger Delta from the NDDC is very high because of the varied challenges
facing the inhabitants of the oil-producing region, especially with
respect to oil and gas pollution as well as environmental hazards.
“The South-South Governors’ Forum will
soon meet to articulate the way forward for the region. The governors
from the South-South share a common passion with NDDC for the
development of the region,” the governor said.
Earlier, the Chairman of the NDDC Board,
Senator Bassey Ewa-Henshaw, lamented that the activities of the
commission were being hampered by funding challenges.
Ewa-Henshaw specifically said that over
N800bn due to the interventionist agency had been withheld over the
years, adding that N45bn ecological funds accruing to the NDDC were also
outstanding.
The NDDC chairman explained that the withheld funds arose from the non-compliance with the Act establishing the commission.
Ewa-Henshaw stated that the NDDC had
since inception been getting 10 percent, instead of the statutory
provision of 15 per cent from the Federal Government.
He appealed to the governors of the
states covered by the NDDC to push for the proper funding of the
commission by the Federal Government and 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 N1trn,
including Interim Payment Certificates that were not paid.
Source: Punchng
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