By Abujah Racheal
Abuja – The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) said it has inaugurated and handed over a total of 3424 projects across the region in fulfilment of its mandate since inception in 2000.
Mr Nsima Ekere, the commission`s Managing Director, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.
According to the managing director, a total of 8657 contracts were awarded within period.
“There are 2,257 ongoing projects whilst 2,506 are yet to be started for various reasons.
“The project portfolio is distributed across civil works such as buildings, canalisation and reclamation, jetties and shore protection and electrification.
“Others are roads and bridges, water supply, buildings, flood control and erosion drainage and equipping and furnishing of schools and health centres,’’ he said.
He added that the commission`s programme portfolio covered capacity building for oil spill response, telecommunications, building technology, entrepreneurship development and waste-to-wealth amongst others.
The managing director told NAN that a total of 72,000 pairs of plastic chairs and desks made by the commission under one of its programmes, would soon be distributed to schools across the region.
Ekere said that the commission`s healthcare programme had within the period, been quite extensive with over 1.2 million patients treated, 3,500 communities visited and 6,000 referrals cases managed.
The NDDC boss further said that emergency relief materials were recently supplied to several communities like Okerenkoko, Oporoza and Opobo amongst others.
He added that seven healthcare facilities were also equipped while over 30,000 protective kits against Lassa Fever were distributed to some communities in the region during the period.
Ekere said that the Niger Delta Master Plan which originally required 15 years to implement at a cost of $50 billion had failed despite the fact that the region had received over $40 billion in the last ten years.
“Sadly, there is little evidence to show for the sum spent,” he said.