The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has disclosed that it will give expression to the original dream of the establishment of the commission, promising departure from the past.
The commission’s Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Mr Maxwell Oko gave the assurance during visits to key stakeholders in the Niger Delta at the weekend.
After his recent appointment, Oko had visited the stakeholders in the region including former President Goodluck Jonathan and former president of Ijaw National Congress (INC), Chief Joshua Fumudoh.
During his meeting with Fumudoh, Oko lamented the decay in the region, decades after the commission was established to address the development challenges in the Niger Delta.
He said: “ We were actively involved in the struggle for a better deal for the people of the Niger Delta. That was how the NDDC came but unfortunately, the region has not seen the kind of development that the founding fathers envisaged.
“We believe that things will change for good in the NDDC. I do not know what the place looks like for now, since we are yet to resume work. But what I can say is that things will no longer remain the same there. We will do our best to turn things around.”
Meanwhile, Jonathan has congratulated Oko on his appointment, with an expression of confidence in his ability to turn things around in the Niger Delta, through the NDDC.
Jonathan said Oko would do well as EDFA. He said in a letter of congratulations he signed personally that “over the years, you have exhibited good leadership, maturity and democratic values in the positions of authority you have held in Bayelsa state.
“Your appointment is well deserved as it shows your tenacity and the trust Mr President has placed in you. I am convinced that you will not disappoint your people.
“I am also confident that you will excel and ensure peace, prosperity and enhanced infrastructural development to the entire Niger Delta region,” Jonathan said.
Oko, a former Niger Delta activist, was the chairman of the Ijaw Youths Council, IYC, in the central zone at a time that the IYC launched the famous Kaiama Declaration and pressed for the development of the region.
He was at the forefront for the emancipation of the Niger Delta before assuming office as the Commissioner for Youths in Bayelsa State under the administration of former Governor Timipre Sylva.
A few days after his appointment into the NDDC, Oko undertook a visit to major critical stakeholders from the region and spoke of his willingness to do things differently in the commission.
