PRESS STATEMENT
Disregard Misleading Report on Desilting Contracts
The attention of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has been drawn to a news story broadcast on some radio stations in Port Harcourt, stating that a group known as the Alliance for Growth and Development in Rivers State has sued the NDDC at the Rivers State High Court, seeking declaratory and injunctive reliefs to restrain the Commission from paying contractors over N200 billion desilting contracts.
We wish to state that the news report quoting the Alliance for Growth and Development is misleading and without foundation as it is based on false premises.
It is important to state that at the inaugural meeting of the 6th Governing Board of the NDDC in the first week of January 2023, the Board suspended the processing and payments of all desilting contracts and directed a comprehensive review of all contract in the Commission with a view to establishing transparency and accountability in the Commission’s processes.
Against this background, therefore, it is clear that the legal action is misconceived. It is driven by bad faith and calculated to distract the current Board from the path of reforming the NDDC in line with its mantra of making a difference in the region.
We call on the general public to discountenance the news report and join the new Board in its reform efforts geared towards repositioning the Commission to make a positive difference in the Niger Delta Region.
Ibitoye Abosede, Ph.D.
Director, Corporate Affairs
February 20, 2023.