Akwa Ibom clears air over alleged obstruction of NDDC

The Akwa Ibom State government is not at loggerheads with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

State Commissioner for Works, Mr. Ephraim Inyangeyen, made the clarification yesterday while dispelling “falsehood that the government is against intervention or road construction by the NDDC.”

He said the state has no reason to reject anyone who wants to support its effort at improving infrastructure, adding that the government was ready to partner with any organisation seeking to add real value to development.

Addressing journalists in his office in Uyo, the state capital, Inyangeyen said: “It is absolute falsehood that government does not want the NDDC to work in Uyo. The governor is irrevocably committed to developing the state. When you politicise development, the people suffer for it.”

He stressed the need for the management of the NDDC to collaborate with the state government as the 2018 budget nears drafting, saying this would make the commission ascertain what its hopes to do in the state within the fiscal year.

He called for the completion of roads abandoned by the commission. The NDDC “must give us value for our money. Akwa Ibom State has over 3218 projects in need of construction and intervention. We could give 200 to the NDDC and also try to battle with 200. The governor is smart enough not to drive away those who are coming to help improve our infrastructure.”