The managing director/ chief executive officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his unwavering commitment to the welfare of the Niger Delta region.
Dr. Ogbuku while assuring the people of the region that NDDC under his leadership will not fail them, stressed that the commission was aiming to align with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda by addressing unemployment through profitable agribusiness ventures.
The NDDC boss, who made the commendation during the LIFE – ND initiative Lunch programme for Akwa lbom, lmo and Rivers states over the weekend in Port Harcourt, said the project aligned with President Tinubu’s declaration of state of emergency in agriculture to ensure food security in the country.
He expressed appreciation to the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD’s) provision of 60 million dollar in counterpart funding for the project, urging it to firm up support in supplying seeds to address challenges faced by farmers.
“In tandem with President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of state of emergency in food security, laudable agriculture programme is what will benefit the people of the region. How can we say we are NDDC covering nine states when six states have already benefited and it seems we are depriving the other three from benefiting?
“They have done their best and right now, we are also matching them with our own best to ensure that we do not deprive our sister states of Akwa lbom, lmo, and Rivers from benefiting from this programme,” Ogbuku said.
Blueprint reports that Dr. Abiodun Sanni, national coordinator of Life – ND project for the three NDDC-funded states of Akwa lbom, lmo and Rivers, recounted the project journey while IFAD country director Dede Kowe stressed the importance of the initiatives and urged the NDDC to manage the released fund responsibly .
Speaking earlier, the executive director project NDDC, Sir Victor Antai highlighted the importantce of partnership with IFAD and outlined other NDDC projects aimed at developing the region.