By Emmanuel Obisue
Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has announced investments in 872 high-impact projects across nine states of the Niger Delta region.
Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Umana Okon Umana made the disclosure while speaking on a Radio Nigeria news programme last Thursday.
The projects, which he said are at various stages of completion, include skill acquisition centres, cassava processing mills, oil processing mills, roads, bridges, and education facilities.
Umana said the projects cover sectors such as agriculture, empowerment, housing, environment, youths and women development.
The minister further announced a new era of transparency and accountability in the ministry in which stakeholders will be in a position to interact with, and directly contribute to the governance process in the region through feedback.
He explained that the publication of a compendium of completed projects executed by the ministry and the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC to be launched in a few months’ time, is a feature of the new era of openness and accountability in the development of the Niger Delta.
Umana recalled that the report of the Forensic Audit of the NDDC identified more than 13,000 projects, 50 percent of which have been completed. “I have directed the NDDC to follow up on the Forensic Audit Report, and publish a compendium of projects completed in the nine states, sector by sector, location by location, date and cost of the contracts to enhance accountability and transparency,” he said.
Describing the East-West Road that traverses the entire length of the Niger Delta region as the defining project of the ministry and a prime federal investment in the region, Umana said the 338-km dual carriage way is 80 percent complete.
Speaking further, the minister said the ministry has built housing estates in all the states of the region, adding that some of the houses have been allocated to end users. He said the new housing plan in the ministry is to encourage investors to develop site-and-service schemes so that people can be incentivized to build their own houses.
The minister added that the ministry would prioritize efficient allocation of resources and collaboration with other stakeholders, including state governments in the region, in the planning and monitoring of projects to avoid duplication of efforts.
Umana informed that the Federal Government was deeply concerned with environmental pollution in the Niger Delta region, and was considering recommendations from the MDAs on how to tackle the problems posed by illegal refinery.
