COVID-19: NDDC shuts down, orders staff to self-isolate after death of Executive Director

Hours after the death of the Executive Director of Finance and Administration of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Ibanga Bassey Etang, the Corporate Headquarters of the Commission was on Thursday shutdown for business and the entire staff directed to go on self-isolation.

Ibanga Bassy Etang died in the early hours of Thursday of an undisclosed illness suspected to be associated with COVID-19 at the Rivers University Teaching Hospital , Port Harcourt .

Sources from the Commission told our reporter that Etang took ill at about 2.00am on Thursday and was rushed to the State Teaching Hospital where he was confirmed dead less than three hours after he was brought to the hospital.

NDDC Head of Cooperate Affairs, Charles Obi Odili told our reporter that he has no information on the death of the Commission’s Finance and Administration Executive Director.

Following the death of the Executive Director of the Commission, the management in a Memo obtained by our reporter stated that the management of NDDC has approved that the Commission be shutdown for two weeks from 28th of May, 2020.

According to the Memo all the activities in the Commission including matters has been shutdown for the time being while members of staff are advised to go on self-isolation and ensure that all electrical appliances in the offices are switched off before leaving the premises.

The Memo directed Head of Security to work out modalities to ensure the safety and security of the Commission while the Director of Administration was requested to fumigate and decontaminate the entire offices and premises in the Headquarters during the period.

NDDC, which has been plagued with allegations of corruption over the years, with no complimentary projects to justify the massive investments by successive governments is being probed by the National Assembly.