Nigerians React As NDDC Takes-Action To Prevent Cholera-Outbreak In Niger Delta (Details)

Nigerians React As NDDC Takes-Action To Prevent Cholera-Outbreak In Niger Delta (Details)

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has rolled out plans to avert an outbreak of cholera in all the communities in the region.

The managing director, NDDC, Samuel Ogbuku, who spoke in Port Harcourt ahead of the commission’s Niger Delta Summit, said NDDC had concluded arrangement to begin massive provision of potable water in all the communities in the region.

Ogbuku said the NDDC would not fold its arms and watch outbreak of cholera epidemic in the Niger Delta.

He said besides providing at least solar-powered boreholes in all the communities, the commission was shopping for vaccines to prevent cholera in the region.

He said: “The water issue is a burning issue. We have been proactive. We have started the process of ensuring that we provide water to all the communities in the Niger Delta. We are taking this step because of the cholera that is breeding across the country.

“As an interventionist agency, we are working towards providing the existing cholera vaccines and providing water for all our people. We will soon begin procurement to ensure that all the communities have a minimum of solar boreholes so that they can have access to good water because cholera is more of a water borne disease.

“We know that in our region, the rains have started falling and soon the floods will.come. When the floods come, there will be no good water to drink and it is going to be a major epidemic in the region. Very soon  you will see the NDDC water in every community the way you see the solar light everywhere”.

The NDDC boss, who highlighted the importance of the forthcoming Niger Delta Summit, said it would afford the people the opportunity to discuss the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and specific ways they would benefit from it.

He added that part of the discussion would be the amendment of the Act establishing the NDDC to remove all the bottlenecks affecting the commission.

He said: “For us, we can as well decide to say, we want to start working towards the process of amending the Act of the NDDC because it does not serve the purpose, because maybe there are some challenges we are facing.

“Even in terms of administration, there are some areas that you find out that maybe the Act needs to be amended, even in terms of distribution of role. But we thought, rather than working alone, let it be that the people come together and discuss it.

“Let it be that it’s the people of the Niger Delta that have come together to agree. So if the people of the Niger Delta come together and agree, fortunately, we have our people in the National Assembly, that means, they are also going to ensure that what these people decide is going to be implemented.

“The Senate President is also going to be the chief host of this event, so if he is the chief host of this event, certain issues agreed upon, they are the ones at that level that have day-to-day discussion with Mr. President. So, we have personalities from the region who I think, I have confidence in that can really push forward whatever the communique we have, we decide on to be implemented.

“We are privileged to have even the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives who is from Abia state, he is from the region. We have ministers that are powerful that are also going to be around”.

Ogbuku assured that the summit would not be like other previous discussions that were abandoned in the past clarifying that NDDC was only the facilitator.

He said: “When we talk stakeholders summit, it is not about NDDC. NDDC is only facilitating stakeholders’ summit in the Niger Delta, because like I said, one of the key agenda of this administration, of the renewed hope agenda of Mr. President is stakeholders’ engagement.

“And we should also be seen as the umbrella body of bringing the entire nine states together in engaging our stakeholders. If Rivers State government wants to do stakeholders summit, it will be limited to Rivers state people, but it is only NDDC that can bring this entire states together.

“So NDDC is just the facilitator. As you can see in the main programme, the chairman of the summit is going to be the former President, Goodluck Jonathan, the President is the Special Guest of Honour, the President of the Senate, being the highest political office holder in the region is the chief host. Then, you have the minister of the Niger Delta as co-host and other governors of the Niger Delta.

“So when you look at all these personalities even during the programme, the person to read the welcome address is the president of the senate who is the chief host.

So it is not an NDDC programme, it is a programme of the people of the Niger Delta.

“Somebody must bring the people together, so if the people of the Niger Delta have agreed to come together to have the meeting and agree on certain issues, I see no reason why they’ll want to abandon what they agreed upon.

So if it is something that we all jointly agree, we are not talking about the stakeholders’ summit for ethnic leaders, we are talking about everybody in the Niger Delta, so everybody will play their key roles.

“So I’m very, very optimistic, I don’t want to be pessimistic at this point because for all of them to be committed, that means they are very, very eager to ensure that whatever that is decided sees representation.

“So, I can assure you that I am very, very committed and I am very, very optimistic that it going to be different from what has happened in the past because this is also going to bring together the people of the Niger Delta and make them more united so I’m optimistic that it won’t be the way others have been.

“If you want to look at it, you ask yourself, when last did the people of the Niger Delta gather? So the Niger Delta people have actually gone through different challenges and I think it is high time we look at these challenges and discuss them once and for all.”