The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. During the World Press Conference held in Asaba, Delta State, as part of activities to mark the great event, its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, assured Nigerians and stakeholders in the interventionist agency area of influence of transparent and accountable leadership. The NDDC boss also linked the problem of abandoned projects in the region to instability of the commission’s board.
He lamented that the frequent change of management of the agency has affected the region for many years and disrupted the commission’s activities. He equally pointed out that the commission under his leadership has been able to address some of the lingering abandoned projects it inherited from past administrations of the agency. However, he noted that all the abandoned projects cannot be tackled in one day. We agree with him on that point and urge him to begin to tackle the abandoned projects that will impact and improve the lives of the people first.
One of the abandoned projects the NDDC boss should fix now is the 21-year old Comprehensive Health Centre in Ikot Udo Ossiom, Southern Afaha Clan, Ukanafun Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. According to available information, the NDDC awarded the contract for the construction of the 24-bed health centre in 2004 as part of its intervention programme to improve the healthcare of rural people in Akwa Ibom State.
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Regrettably, the project has been uncompleted and abandoned to date. The other day, the people of the village and neighbouring villages held a peaceful demonstration at the site of the uncompleted health facility and urged the NDDC to complete the project and make it available for use by the people in all the surrounding villages.
In a Save-Our-Souls message to the NDDC, contained in a press statement of July 16, the people of the clan comprising over 32 villages stated: “Our people, particularly the elderly, pregnant women, and children, suffer from limited access to medical care, resulting in high child mortality rates, low life expectancy, and various healthcare-related issues.”
They also observed that “from the creation of Ukanafun as a local government area, the said clan had existed without any healthcare facility. It was in 2004 that the people of Ikot Udo Ossiom approached the management of the NDDC and informed them that in their community there are over 32 villages occupied by thousands of people without any hospital, health centre or even a dispensary.”
“For 21 years, our communities have been denied access to essential healthcare services due to the abandonment of the Comprehensive Health Centre project by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC),” they stated. The NDDC should review the contract and compel the contractor handling the project to complete the work within a stipulated timeframe. The NDDC should also monitor the progress of the work.
We recall that the NDDC was established in 2000 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo administration with the sole mandate of developing the oil-rich Niger-Delta region. It was empowered to address the environmental challenges of the region arising from years of oil exploration and ensure sustainable development of the region. The late President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2008 announced the formation of the Niger Delta Ministry, with the NDDC to become its parastatal.
Despite these bold interventions, the NDDC has many abandoned projects, including the Comprehensive Health Centre in Akwa Ibom. There is no doubt that with the new NDDC management under the watch of Ogbuku, there is hope that the abandoned health facility will be fixed and put to use to the benefit of the indigenes of the area.
Apart from this particular health centre, let the NDDC make haste to complete all its abandoned projects littered in its nine states of operation.
Good enough, Ogbuku has promised to do so. We urge him to increase the pace of attending to the abandoned projects. We also believe that completing the Akwa Ibom hospital will go a long way in achieving the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030. UHC is one of the goals of United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The people of Ikot Udo Ossiom in Southern Afaha Clan, Ukanafun Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State should not be denied access to better health care services.
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