Elders Council in Bayelsa State has called on the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, to collaborate with other development agencies and state governments to find a lasting solution to the perennial flood ravaging the Niger Delta region.
Speaking, former Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, and also the Chairman of Council, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha Jonah (Rtd), who appealed during an interactive session with the NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, said that the Elders Council, mostly traditional rulers, had commissioned a study on how to tackle the recurrent flood in the state, adding that the report of the study was ready and waiting for implementation.
According to Gboribiogha Jonah, he said the commission was contending with funding challenges because of outstanding debts by International Oil Companies, IOCs, and the Federal Government; while defaulting oil companies to meet their statutory obligations to the Commission to enable it to deliver on its mandate to fast-track the development of the Niger Delta region.
The elder’s Council went further to commend his Excellency, the Executive President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu’s retention of Dr. Ogbuku as the NDDC Chief Executive Officer, and called for better funding for the Commission.
Also speaking, the NDDC Managing Director assured the elders that the Commission was already taking measures to mitigate the effects of flood in the region, adding that the commission will build campsites in Delta, Bayelsa, and Rivers states as a temporary measure while a dam would be the permanent solution.
He revealed that a consultant had been engaged to design the proposed dam, noting that it would enable the commission to approach development partners and the Federal Government to agree on execution and participation levels.
However, Ogbuku recalled that the commission carried out emergency repairs on the flood-ravaged sections of the East-West Road at Ahoada and Mbiama in Rivers State, as well as Patani in Delta State in 2022, noting that intervention restored the link between Rivers, Bayelsa, and Delta states.
He hinted that the Commission adopted the Public-Private Partnerships, PPP, model to provide alternative sources of funding for key development projects and programs.
“The beauty of the dam scheme is that it would be a disaster-to-asset project because whereas flood is a disaster, a dam is an asset that would generate power.
“We have started engagements with the key stakeholders, such as the oil companies who contribute three percent of their operational budget to the Commission; the state governments; traditional rulers; Civil Society Groups; youth organizations, and Contractors.
“We hosted a PPP summit in Lagos on April 25, with the theme: “Rewind to Rebirth” and it generated a lot of positive responses“, he stated.
NDDC boss made it known to the Elders Council that when the current management assume office, the Commission had no approved budget. “Now the budget has been passed by the National Assembly and we are ready to hit the ground running,” Ogbuku noted.
