The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), on Thursday, inaugurated the reconstructed Ndioro-Ntalakwu and its adjoining road networks, measuring 18.25 kilometers, in Ikwuano Local Government Area (LGA) of Abia.

The commission also inaugurated another reconstructed 5.

In a speech at the ceremony held at the Ikwueke Central School, Umuigu, the Minister for Regional Development, Mr Abubakar Momoh, expressed delight that NDDC was delivering on its mandate of regional transformation.

Momoh advised state governments and the regional interventionist commissions recently inaugurated by the Federal Government to enter into strong partnership with NDDC to fasttrack the development of their respective states and the region in general.

He said that the present management of the commission, led by Dr Samuel Ogbuku, was poised to establish a culture of delivering the commission’s projects so that successive managements would key in toward ensuring that NDDC projects would no longer be abandoned.

The minister directed the commission to undertake the immediate renovation of the school, venue of the event, said to be built in the 1950s and presently in a sorry state of dilapidation.

In his remark, Gov. Alex Otti of Abia thanked the commission for the number of projects it had executed in the state, which had contributed to the expansion of infrastructural projects in the state and enhancement of the people wellbeing.

Otti, representated by his Chief of Staff, Caleb Ajagba, expressed the readiness of the State Government to collaborate with the commission and other interventionist agencies for the rapid transformation of the state.

He also expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu and NDDC “for their unwavering commitment to the transformation of the Niger Delta region”.

He said that the reconstructed roads would help to boost the transportation of people and agricultural produce from the rural communities to the cities as part of the measures to check food shortage.

The governor charged the benefitting communities to take ownership of the roads in order to ensure that they served their purpose.

The NDDC boss said that the commission was committed to fostering healthy partnership with the states to drive the process of infrastructure development of the region.

According to him, the NDDC projects were merely complementing the efforts of the State Governments in tackling the infrastructure deficits in the region.

He gave credit for the numerous projects executed by the present management and board of the commission to the president and his Renewed Hope Agenda.

“The president’s Renewed Hope Agenda is practical and that is why you are witnessing practical outcomes that are beneficial to the citizenry,” Ogbuku said.

He promised that more projects would be initiated by the commission to ensure that the three senatorial districts of Abia benefitted from its numerous transformational projects.

The Chairman of the board, Mr Chiedu Ebie, affirmed the commission’s commitment to discharging its mandate, geared towards making life more meaningful for the people of the region.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on NDDC, Sen. Achibong Ekpenyong, said that the National Assembly would continue to give the commission the necessary legislative support to ensure that it delivered on its mandate to the region and its people.

Ekpenyong, who led other members of the committee to the event, said that more people-oriented projects were underway for the region, in line with the objective of the president’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Sen. Austin Akobundu and Rep. Obi Aguocha, representing Abia Central Senatorial District and Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South Federal Constituency of Abia, respectively, commended NDDC for the good job it was doing in the state.

They, however, requested for more intervention in other critical areas of both physical infrastructure and human capital development.

Earlier in an address of welcome, the Abia Representative in the Board of the commission, Chief Dimgba Eruba, said that NDDC had executed meaningful projects that had made life more meaningful for the people.

Eruba said that the reconstructed roads would help to improve transportation and enhance commerce and socio-economic development of the area.

He thanked the president for giving the commission the enablement and leverage to deliver the dividend of democracy to the people and pleaded for more projects to be cited in Abia.

In a speech, the Executive Director, Projects, Mr Victor Antai, said that the road, covering 18.25-km, was awarded in 2019 and commended a former House of Representatives member, Chief Emeka Atuma, who hails from the area, for attracting and ensuring the project completion.

Antai also said that the second phase of the road project in the area, linking Oboro and Olokoro in Umuahia South LGA, covers 5.5 kilometres.

He said that the completion of the two roads and other adjoining roads would help to boost agriculture and commerce in the area.

He further said that the long stretch of the solar-powered streetlight on the Ndioro-Ntalakwu Road, being part of the contract, would enhance illumination and security of lives and property in the area.

“With these projects, NDDC is making a statement that it is making a difference in the region,” Antai said.

The Teaditional Ruler of Oboro, Eze Larry Agwu, said that the reconstruction of the roads would help the benefitting agrarian communities to transport their produce to the urban towns for sale.

Agwu appealed to the commission and Federal Government to also intervene in other roads and school infrastructures that were begging for attention, in order to make life more meaningful for the people.

Report says that other prominent people from the South-East at the ceremony, included Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe and Sen. Victor Umeh, representing Abia South and Anambra Central, respectively, and traditional rulers from the two LGAs, amongst others. (NAN)