The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has disclosed that it would at the moment slow down on awarding of new contracts and give attention to completion to ongoing ones. This was as the commission has inaugurated an Aquaculture Training Centre in Elugwu-Umuntu, Olokoro community in Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State, as part of its efforts to boost agriculture in the Niger Delta region. The Managing Director of NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, spoke while commissioning the Aquaculture Training Centre in Abia State, weekend, according to a statement in Port Harcourt yesterday by Director, Corporate Affairs, NDDC, Pius Ughakpoteni.
Ogbuku noted that the NDDC under his leadership had upon assumption of office resolved to ensure that all projects initiated by the commission were completed in good record time, adding that at the moment the commission would slow down in awarding new contracts. Ogbuku said further: “Coming on board the NDDC management, we decided as a policy to ensure that all projects initiated by the Commission are completed and not abandoned. As part of our policy, we are going to slow down on awarding contracts for new projects and focus on completing ongoing projects.” The MD, NDDC stated that agriculture was one of the key agendas of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, noting that the centre is targeted to be strategic in addressing the empowerment of local communities. Ogbuku said: “This initiative is a strategic alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically targeting the eradication of poverty (SDG 1) and hunger (SDG 2). The Centre is poised to become a cornerstone in these efforts, addressing these pressing global issues by empowering local communities through sustainable agriculture and skill development.”
He stated that agriculture is one of the sustainable means of empowering women and youths in the country, adding that the approach reflects the broader SDG strategy of promoting sustainable economic growth, providing decent work for all, and supporting resilient agricultural practices that contribute to the overall health and stability of the community.
The NDDC boss assured that the centre would address the challenges of unemployment by offering relevant trainings in aquaculture, promising that 50 youths from the Umuntu community would be enlisted for training in the centre. However, the NDDC Director, Abia State office, and Representative of the state on the Board of the Commission, Chief Dimgba Eruba, commended the Managing Director for demonstrating dedication to the Commission’s vision of providing the much-needed sustainable solution to the socio-economic challenges of the Niger Delta region.Eruba said “This commissioning ceremony is a testimony of the fact that NDDC is fully committed to the developmental plans and commitment of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to a Renewed Hope Agenda for a greater and prosperous Nigeria. The Aquaculture Training Center Umuntu is envisioned to be a skill acquisition hub and an economic catalyst that will empower a good number of our growing population on how to breed, raise and harvest fish, and make a profit from the enterprise.”
