The Advisory Council the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has resolved to urgently address the funding challenges facing the commission so as to re-position it for better service delivery to the people of the region.

The council comprises governors of the nine Niger Delta States of Delta, Edo, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Ondo, Imo and Abia. It has Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State as chairman.

Rising from a meeting Saturday night in the New Government House, Asaba, the council also decried the attitude of some oil majors who defaulted on their funding obligations to the commission thus stalling the commission’s activities.

Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State who briefed the press said that the meeting provided the council an opportunity to look into the funding challenges, programmes and budget of the NDDC.

He stated that the council also looked at ways to leverage the outstanding funds from some of the oil majors who have defaulted on their funding obligations to the commission.

“We got a briefing from the Chairman of the Commission on the funding challenges facing the commission and we are ready to see how we can assist in resolving some of these challenges and how we can (recover) some of the outstanding funds from the oil majors,” Dr. Mimiko said.

He explained that the council also looked at the projects undertaken by the commission and urged the NDDC Board to place emphasis on legacy projects that would create jobs for the people of the Niger Delta region and sustain the economy of the region beyond oil.

Also speaking with newsmen, Chairman of the Board, Mr. Dan Bassey Abia, said that the meeting provided an opportunity to resolve the problems facing the commission, stressing that “we have started a new NDDC, things are getting better.”

Besides Mimiko, other governors who attended the meeting were Theodore Orji of Abia, Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa, Liyel Imoke of Cross River, the host, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, and Secretary to the Imo State Government, who represented the Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha. Also in attendance were members of the Board and management of the NDDC.

•Photo shows NDDC Advisory Council members who attended Saturday night’s meeting in Asaba. They are, from left: Dickson, Mimiko, Imoke, Uduaghan and Orji.

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