The Niger Delta Development Commission has handed over two of its abandoned bridge projects at Akenfa and Polaku in Yenagoa Local Government Area to the Bayelsa State government.
Managing Director of the NDDC, Samuel Ogbuku, handed over documents of the projects to Governor Douye Diri during a courtesy visit to Government House, Yenagoa, on Thursday.
The Polaku bridge connects communities in Yenagoa LGA with Sabagreia in Kolokuma/Opokuma LGA as well as provides an alternative route from the East-West road into the state capital.
It was started in 1982 by the late Melford Okilo government in Rivers State and taken over by the NDDC in the year 2000, but the project had been stalled for many years. Similarly, the Akenfa bridge project, which is across Epie Creek, had been uncompleted for many years.
A statement on Friday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Daniel Alabrah, said the Diri administration, upon assumption of office, approached the NDDC to take over the construction of the projects due to their strategic importance to the state.
Ogbuku stated that the commission had paid off the contractors for work done, adding that the state government now had the responsibility of ensuring their completion.
He said, “We are handing over the Akenfa and Polaku bridge projects to the Bayelsa State government for completion and for the benefit of the people. There are no encumbrances as we are not owing the contractors. So the government is free to handle the two projects.”
The commission’s boss said the delegation, which included the Bayelsa representative, Denyabofa Dimaro, was in the state to formally introduce the new board to the governor and to inaugurate some projects.
While seeking collaboration with the state government to deliver impactful projects to Bayelsa and other Niger Delta states, Ogbuku said the commission is also “willing to synergise with other partners such as the World Bank, Africa Development Bank and the European Union to develop the region.”
He commended the governor on his administration’s developmental strides in the state, hinting that the NDDC was in the process of offsetting the N2billion owed Setraco for the Ogbia-Nembe road and that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) was expected to inaugurate it in the second week of May.
Governor Diri, in his response, congratulated, Samuel Ogbuku on his appointment and stressed the need for the NDDC to collaborate with governors of the Niger Delta states on project execution and ensure equitable distribution of infrastructure.
“You have a lot of abandoned projects littering our state. But I’m sure you are doing a lot about them, and knowing who you are, I also believe that you have the capacity to lead the NDDC to greater heights to the admiration of the people of the Niger Delta.
“Nobody is an island. Therefore, we need to collaborate for the overall development of our region and the states. So, without you even asking for support, I lend my support to you and the board of the NDDC,” he said.
