The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs ( MNDA) has invested in 872 projects across nine states of the Niger Delta region, the minister Mr. Umana Umana, has revealed.
The Minister made the revelation in a statement made available on Thursday by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Deworitshe Patricia in Abuja.
Umana said the projects, which are at various stages of completion, include skill acquisition centres, cassava processing mills, oil processing mills, roads, bridges, and education facilities.
He said the projects cover sectors such as agriculture, empowerment, housing, environment, youths and women development.
The minister announced a new era of transparency and accountability in the ministry in which stakeholders will be in a position to interact with and directly contribute to the governance process in the region through feedback.
He explained that the publication of a compendium of completed projects executed by the ministry and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to be launched in a few months’ time is a feature of the new era of openness and accountability in the development of the Niger Delta.
Umana said the report of the Forensic Audit of the NDDC identified more than 13,000 projects, 50 percent of which have been completed.
“I have directed the NDDC to follow up on the Forensic Audit Report, and publish a compendium of projects completed in the nine states, sector by sector, location by location, date and cost of the contracts to enhance accountability and transparency,” he said.
Describing the East-West Road that traverses the entire length of the Niger Delta region as the defining project of the ministry and a prime federal investment in the region, Umana said the 338-km dual carriage way is 80 percent complete.
He explained that on the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari, the road project was handed over to the Ministry of Works and Housing, which has redesigned the Eleme section in Rivers State into a six-lane super highway to accommodate heavy traffic from the industrial clusters between Eleme and Onne portion of the road.
Speaking further, the minister said the ministry has built housing estates in all the states of the region, adding that some of the houses have been allocated to end users.
He said the new housing plan in the ministry is to encourage investors to develop site-and-service schemes so that people can be incentivized to build their own houses.
The minister said the ministry would prioritize efficient allocation of resources and collaboration with other stakeholders, including State Governments in the region, in the planning and monitoring of projects to avoid duplication of efforts.
Umana said the Federal Government was deeply concerned with environmental pollution in the Niger Delta region, and was considering recommendations from the MDAs on how to tackle the problems posed by illegal refinery, which is a significant contributory factor to environmental pollution in the region.
