NDDC urges public to disregard statement credited to Governor

Mrs Ibim Semenitari, acting Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has called on the public to disregard a statement credited to Rivers governor, Nyesom Wike over some road projects.

Semenitari made the call in a statement issued by Bekee Anyalewechi, her Special Assistant on Media, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Port Harcourt.

The statement said that Wike was wrong by his claim that NDDC was not the financier of the construction of Igwuruta-Chokocho-Okehia and Oil Mill-Igbo-Etche-Chokocho road projects in Etche LGA of the state.

"Ibim Semenitari debunks claims made by Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers that NDDC is not involved in the recovery of dilapidated road infrastructure in Etche local government area of the state.

"Wike is not only playing to the gallery, he is also hiding the fact of his failure to tackle the bigger challenge of insecurity plaguing the state.

"As an interventionist agency, NDDC stepped in to recover the roads between Igwuruta and Umuechem, as well as internal roads in the community and the Oil Mill-Igbo-Etche-Chokocho road.

"NDDC, working under the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari, stepped in to arrest the deterioration of the roads to boost economic activities and give residents a lease of life,” the statement said.

It added that checks could be made to verify Semenitari’s claim through a visit to the area to confirm the veracity of NDDC scope and quality of intervention on the roads.

It said the Oil Mill-Igbo-Etche-Chokocho road was critical because it connected Port Harcourt with agriculture and other economic produce spots in Etche.

"The public is assured that we will not relent on our efforts to complete those projects despite attempts to possibly stall their early completion,” the statement said.

It said that the commission was not interested in bickering with Wike, but was only interested in pursuing human and infrastructural development of the Niger Delta region.

The statement urged Wike to focus more of his attention to current insecurity in the state rather than engaging the commission “in a speech contest.’’