NDDC board member decries abandoned projects in Rivers

The Rivers State Representative on the Board of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Chief Tony Okocha, said the commission has about 953 abandoned projects in Rivers State alone.

Okocha who disclosed this at an interactive meeting with the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers in Port Harcourt yesterday said many of the abandoned projects were awarded by the previous management of the commission.

The board member noted that some of the abandoned projects were fully mobilised but were still abandoned.

He blamed inconsistency in the board and management of NDDC as one of the major reasons for the abandoned projects.

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“When I went through my records, I found out that Rivers State is number two among the states that have more abandoned projects in NDDC.  Rivers State has 953 abandoned projects and these projects are dotted around all the nooks and crannies of the state and we have your royal highnesses who these projects are dotted in their domains and their neighborhood.

“As we open up these interactions, we have to ask ourselves and our fathers what happened because these projects started before we came, so what happened? Why are these projects yet to be completed?  My investigations showed two things.  The first thing that we found out was that some of these projects were abandoned because of the nature of NDDC leadership.

“When some MDs or rather boards came, they awarded their own contracts and you know what is typical of NDDC in those days. One of the things that have bedevilled these developmental strides is the inconsistencies of government.  Three months down the line, a board is set up, after three months the same board is dissolved and within the period that they existed, they would have awarded contracts to people to go and work.

“Another thing is that when the board is dissolved and a new board comes on board, it has the tendency of awarding different jobs so that they will also make their name and that has been our problem,” he said.