The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, has been nominated for the Public Servant of the Year Award for his commitment to bringing peace and development to the Niger Delta.

This was made known during a courtesy visit by the New Telegraph team to the NDDC Chief Executive Officer at the Commission's Headquarters in Port Harcourt.

Accepting the nomination, Ogbuku noted, “We accept the award, and we say thank you for this recognition. This is not the first award we are receiving, as we have had several awards in areas of revolutionising and transforming the Niger Delta.”

He stated: “The Board and Management of the Commission are driven by the zeal of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in developing the Niger Delta. We ensure that whatever we do is in line with the President's Renewed Hope Agenda and the Minister of Regional Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, ensures that we give periodic reports on our activities coupled with oversight functions of the National Assembly; we have no choice but to succeed. Mr. President has given us all we need to succeed.”

The NDDC Boss also noted areas in which the Commission had excelled, including the Light-Up-the-Niger-Delta Project, the distribution of 45,000 U-Lesson Tablets to schoolchildren in the region, and youth empowerment training.

Ogbuku observed: “We are focused on the next chapter. We are taking roads and water to inaccessible communities in the region. We will soon commence a six-month 1,000-youth training in Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in Akwa Ibom State; the modalities are currently being worked out.”

He added: “This award is not just for the NDDC. It flows from the President, to the National Assembly and to our stakeholders. This honour and recognition is a charge to do more. We do not take it for granted.”

In his own remarks, the Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of the New Telegraph newspaper, Mr. Ayodele Aminu, remarked: “We have watched, with keen interest, the activities of the Managing Director of the NDDC since he assumed office. Our Board of Editors and Panel of Judges singled him out as Public Servant of the Year because of his significant strides in accountability, youth empowerment, Light Up the Niger Delta, and region-wide infrastructural development, amongst others.”

He said that the New Telegraph 2025 Awards Ceremony is scheduled to be held on February 13, 2026, in Lagos.

• PHOTO: Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of the New Telegraph newspaper, Ayodele Aminu, and Editor, Juliet Bumah, with NDDC MD, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku

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