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From Ben Dunno, Warri
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has expressed concern over the spate of vandalism and theft of vital components of some major projects in communities across the region and urged indigenes to see these projects as their personal property, in order to safeguard it for the common good of everyone.
Lamenting the ugly trends during a capacity-building programme organised by the Commission’s Corporate Affairs Directorate for Delta communities’ stakeholders in Warri, yesterday, officials said the initiative was aimed at addressing persistent challenges undermining development projects in the Niger Delta.
Speaking at the occasion, the NDDC Director, Delta state office, Onoriode Omo-Udoyo, who was represented by his assistant, Dr. Sweet Odulami, noted that the essence of the engagement was to strengthen ownership, monitoring and protection of infrastructure delivered by the interventionist agency.
While urging the participants to take responsibility for projects in their domains, he maintained that NDDC ceases to take responsibility for the protection of projects after they have been commissioned and handed over, adding that the communities now owe it a duty to protect such projects, so as to preserve it for the future.
According to him; “We are gathered here to be empowered to take ownership of our project. NDDC is designed to develop and empower the Niger Delta. If the project is in good shape, we all will enjoy it,” he said.
He continued, “When you see anything going wrong with the NDDC project, blow whistle, report to community leaders,” while encouraging communities to formally communicate their needs to the Commission.
On project sustainability, he clarified, “NDDC does not abandon projects. We have stalled projects. There may be unforeseen reasons for such stalled projects. It may take a week, month or year. We hand over projects to the state, local governments or communities.”
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Speaking on the sidelines with reporters, the Director stressed the urgency of the initiative: “Inasmuch as the NDDC is doing more, projects are still vandalised. That is why the NDDC has come up with this programme to educate the stakeholders that they should take charge of the projects, monitor them so that they will not be vandalised.”
He added, “For example, as the NDDC is lighting up the Niger Delta, the rate of criminality has reduced. If the communities protect those projects, the Niger Delta will be peaceful for us to live in.”
Leading participants through the seminar, Director of Peace and Development Projects, Francis Abayomi, said rising cases of vandalism necessitated stakeholder engagement.
“About 50% of the projects carried out by the NDDC had been vandalised, hence the need for the programme,” he said.
Responding, officials advised communities to channel complaints through NDDC offices and engage contractors constructively. They also noted that effective supervision improves compliance by contractors.
The Programme Coordinator, Ovie Mathias, said the initiative was designed to ensure sustainability of NDDC projects.
Participants at the programme who are mostly community youths drawn from various host communities in Delta state, acknowledged the need for more vigilance on these projects and applauded NDDC for embarking on the enlightenment seminars in the region.
