The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) will relocate from its temporary head office on Aba Road to its permanent headquarters under construction, at Eastern bye-pass in Port Harcourt, next year.
The Managing Director, Mr. Nsima Ekere, who announced this during the 17th anniversary and annual thanksgiving service of the commission at the Dappa Biriye corporate headquarters, assured workers that the 2018 event will take place at the new office.
He said the 12-floor head office complex was one of the legacies the present NDDC board and management would leave at the end of its tenure.
Ekere hailed the approval of funds by the Federal Executive Council for the completion of the project, which he regretted suffered delays since it was started by the defunct Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC) in 1994.
He said: “We must sustain the thanksgiving service because we have many things we need to be thankful to God.”
Ekere said efforts were being made to build human capital in the region, adding: “We have signed agreements that will help us achieve this.”
The chief executive officer noted that in the last one year, the commission had entered into partnerships, including the one with Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), to provide employment for youths.
He said NDDC signed a tripartite agreement for the establishment of the first ever enterprise innovation and growth hub in Nigeria, adding that it was partnering SMEDAN and Builders Hub Impact Investment Programme (BHIIP) for this purpose.
According to him, “this is a new approach to address the need to train our youths. We want to turn them into entrepreneurs, who will create jobs and help in checking restiveness in Niger Delta.
“It is important that we do things that are sustainable. Thus, we will not relent in taking measures that will create job opportunities for our youths. Coming to protest at the gates of NDDC is no longer profitable, as we are sticking with the policy of not negotiating with agitators, especially those that are sponsored. We need to discourage hooliganism and rascality.”
