Again, IFAD tasks NDDC on commitment to better life project in N’Delta

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has urged the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to provide its counterpart-fund to fast-track implementation of the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises in Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) project.

Meanwhile, findings revealed that IFAD had since commenced its capacity-building on various agricultural value-chain and different agric business ventures designed to address the challenges of youths’ restiveness and other social vices in the region.

After two years of commencement, the five-year programme, which is supposed to end in 2025, is yet to commence in three core states of NDDC.

National Project Co-ordinator of LIFE-ND, Abiodun Sanni, who spoke, yesterday, in Port Harcourt, while launching the certification of the project as an entrepreneurship development institute by a micro-finance bank, noted that the programme is currently running in six states but lamented that Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Imo states are yet to come on board because the NDDC is yet to contribute its counterpart-fund for the project in those areas.

He said: “Nothing has changed and we have made serious efforts to ensure that NDDC lives up to its responsibilities and promises but up till now, two years after the programme started, we have not been able to get the commitment from the commission.”

“This has lingered but if NDDC had complied, we could have developed and the benefits of the project on the youths in the three states could have tremendously manifested but it is sad that the commission has not been able to meet up with its responsibilities.”

He said that the NNDC supposed to pay a counterpart-fund of $30 million within a span of six years while IFAD is funding with $60 million.

Deputy Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Kush Peter Kukwu, described the programme as very important to the region.

In his remarks, Director, Project Co-ordinating Unit, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mr. Ubandoma Ularami, assured the commitment of the ministry in ensuring availability of fund to ensure full participation of the nine benefiting states.

Ularami said that the ministry would collaborate with the National Assembly to ensure adequate funding of NDDC to meet its counterpart-fund of the three states lagging behind.