Thursday, June 18, 2020 marked another historic day in the eventful journey of the Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC) as the Ag. Managing Director/CEO, Prof. Keme Pondei and Ag. Executive Director, Projects, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, resumed work at the new headquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC which a major accomplishment took over two decades to achieve.
With this successful movement, the offices of the Managing Director and Executive Director, Projects of the NDDC effectively relocated from 167 Aba Road, Port Harcourt to its own new, nearly completed headquarters building on Eastern Bypass, Port Harcourt.
This marks the first stage of the phased movement of the Commission’s operations to it’s new headquarters and comes a few days after President Muhammadu Buhari, in his Democracy Day address, stated that the head office of the NDDC will be commissioned soon.
Prof. Kemebradikumo Pondei addressing journalists shortly after getting a feel of his new office said, “I want to give all the credit to Mr. President Muhammadu Buhari for directing the Honourable Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to ensure that history be made on a day like this.
“It is also important for us to acknowledge the tireless effort of our dear departed colleague, Chief Ibanga Bassey Etang, the former EDFA, who spent a lot of time here, to ensure we completed this edifice.
“I want also to give credit to everyone who has worked in the past to make this dream come true. This is a headquarters anyone should be proud of, because it provides us with a better environment to meet the core mandate that NDDC was set up to achieve,” Prof. Pondei said.
On his own part, the Executive Director, Projects (EDP), Dr. Cairo Ojougboh said; “It gladdens my heart that twenty-five years after its foundation laying ceremony, we were able to sing the National Anthem on the 12th floor of this very important headquarters. I thank God for this moment.”
Highpoint of the resumption formalities, was the observance of a minute’s silence in honour of Chief Ibanga Bassey Etang, the former Executive Director Finance & Administration, who passed away on May 28, at Braithwaite Memorial Hospital, BMH, Port Harcourt.
