The Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, High Chief Dr. Dennis Otuaro, has appealed to the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, to give special consideration to the peculiarities of riverine communities whose terrains are different from upland communities, in their project designs and contract models.

The PAP Boss gave the counsel while speaking at the Technical Session of the NDDC's Niger Delta Stakeholders' Summit 2024, themed, "Renewed Hope for Sustainable Development of the Niger Delta", which held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Wednesday, July 10.

Dr. Otuaro admonished stakeholders to take advantage of the NDDC stakeholders’ Summit to encourage the intervention agency of government to deliver on its objectives for the region.

According to him, “Stakeholders engagement by the NDDC has been long expected over the years. That is why we at the Presidential Amnesty Programme, two weeks ago, organised our stakeholders’ meetings (in Warri, Delta State) where we assured everybody about the renewed hope agenda of Mr. President.

“Today, all of us as stakeholders should grab the opportunity of this dialogue with both hands and encourage the management of the NDDC to continue with this stakeholders engagement. When we encourage them, they will seek our opinions even on projects in our areas, especially on the immediate needs of communities.

“I know that the terrains of NDDC states are different, but my appeal is that for projects that are to be sited in the riverine areas, the NDDC should take a critical look at the designs because the designs are the contracting models. Compare the way you do contracts in those riverine communities and those in the upland areas," he counseled.

Dr. Otuaro, who conveyed President Bola Tinubu's desire to see to the positive transformation of the region, also admonished stakeholders to embrace and promote peace as that is a driver of development.

“Mr President has the political will to support the development of the Niger Delta. We know that he will not disappoint us but, we, as community people and stakeholders, have a role to play because this peace we are talking about is for us; it comes first before oil. When there is no peace in our villages, many of us will not be able to go to our villages.

“Therefore, stakeholders engagement is a critical part in the design of community projects. The management of the NDDC knows the critical role of peace and stability for the development of the Niger Delta.

“Peace, security and stability have to do with the stakeholders, including the traditional rulers, youths, women and others, many of whom were alienated from the activities of the NDDC. And people don’t really know what is happening," he hinted.

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