By Frank Ulom
CALABAR (CONVERSEER) – The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has called on stakeholders, community leaders and youths to take ownership of projects situated in their communities.
The directive was given by the NDDC State Director for Cross River, Dr Daniel Ajunwa, during a “Capability Building Programme for Stakeholders Across the Niger Delta Region on Community Ownership and Protection of NDDC Projects”, held in Calabar Friday.
The programme was aimed at educating citizens, youth groups, traditional rulers, and civil society organisations on the importance of taking “ownership” of government interventions.
Declaring a zero-tolerance policy toward the destruction of NDDC projects, Dr Ajunwa expressed deep concern over the increasing rate of theft affecting standard 100-kilowatt solar street lights and other facilities designed to improve security and lives of people in the region.
He stated that, “It is disheartening that after making all this effort and spending money, hoodlums and criminals will steal our projects. We have given light virtually to all the communities, but the report I’m receiving is that some community boys go and pull down the poles to steal the bulbs. We can no longer tolerate that.”
The State Director stressed that the Commission, under the leadership of the Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, is shifting its strategy toward strict accountability. He warned that any community that fails to protect its facilities will be blacklisted from future interventions.
“We have resolved as a commission that any community that allows vandalisation, that community will not have any NDDC project again. There is no second chance,” Ajunwa warned.
He further noted that the Commission would not hesitate to hold traditional rulers accountable for negligence if infrastructure in their domain is destroyed. “If you are caught, we will apprehend even the traditional ruler for his negligence. There is a law, and it will be interpreted accordingly.”
Supporting this stance, the programme facilitator, Dr Carol Ebuta, revealed staggering statistics regarding the loss of infrastructure in the Niger Delta region.
“As we speak now, statistics show that about 50% of NDDC intervention projects over the years are not on ground the way they were implemented. They have either been vandalised, stolen, or abandoned,” Ebuta said.
Ebuka urged community members to move past the “government property” mentality and view these projects as their own. “If your community is in darkness and NDDC intervenes with solar lights, and then you vandalise them, is it the NDDC management house you are putting in darkness or your own community?”
The Commission called on youths in communities to form vigilante groups to protect these assets, which are provided to “change the narrative and transform lives in the region.”
The sensitisation campaign, which kicked off in Cross River, is expected to move across the nine states of the Niger Delta region, including Akwa Ibom, Abia, Ondo, and Delta.
