• Commission Iqnaugurates Aquaculture Centre In Umuahia To Advance SDGs On Poverty Eradication

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has called on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to urgently intervene in controlling erosion menace ravaging parts of the state.

Governor Otti also urged the intervention agency to complete all abandoned projects it had embarked upon in the state.

The Governor made the call on Friday when he received the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the NDDC, Dr. Sam Ogbuku and some Directors of the Commission who paid him a working visit.

Ogbuku told Governor Otti that he and his team were in Abia for the commissioning of the Aqua Culture Training Center in Umuahia and deemed it necessary to visit him.
The Governor thanked Ogbuku and his team for their visit and congratulated the NDDC’s Chief Executive Officer for his appointment and subsequent confirmation.

He used the opportunity to draw the attention of the NDDC boss to some of the Commission’s uncompleted projects in the State and the problem of erosion ravaging some parts of the State.

“In Abia we have a lot of challenges. The major ones are in few places like Aba, Umuahia, Isuikwuato and Umunneochi area – erosion,” Governor Otti stated.

He informed the NDDC executives of how erosion, in Ovom, a community in Aba, had cut a road into two, creating massive gully which led to the collapse of buildings in the area.

“By yesterday (Thursday), I gave ultimatum that they should evacuate everyone because every day we are losing the road. So, we would approach you, if it is possible, you assist us in dealing with that.

“But there are also a lot of abandoned projects. One of them is very close here and links this place to the Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Headquarters. As at the last time I passed there, my estimate is that it was about 60% completed. Somewhere along the line funding ceased,” the Governor narrated.

He appealed to the NDDC to see to the completion of the projects otherwise all the works that had been done would amount to waste.

Governor Otti referred the visiting NDDC team to other projects in Aba, Arochukwu and Umuahia North which had also been abandoned as a result of the contractors being owed.
He, however, acknowledged the interventions by the NDDC in the state, saying, although the State may not have achieved all but that if we take away the projects that had been undertaken by the NDDC, we would also realise that we would have been several years backward.

The Governor expressed confidence in the capacity of Dr. Ogbuku and his team to lead NDDC to greater accomplishments.

The Directors that accompanied Dr. Sam Ogbuku to the visit were: Dr. Nosiri Godwin – Director Commercial and Industrial Development (CID); Nwankwo Chidi – Director Public Private Partnerships (PPP); Mr. Nelson Onwo – Director Project Monitoring and Supervision (PMS); and Engr. Evong M. Evong – Director Project Management Supervision (PMS).

There were also Engr. Uno O. Uno – Director Utility, Infrastructural Development and Waterways (UIDW); Okpozo Edgar – Director Security; Mr. Madumere Winifred – Director Agric and Fisheries; Frank Oputu T. – Director 2 Agric and Fisheries; Selina Dan Albert – Deputy Director New Media/Corporate Affairs; and Mr. Dimgba Eruba – Abia Representative on the board/Director Abia State.

Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Kenneth Kalu, joined Governor Otti in receiving the NDDC Managing Director and his team.
Meanwhile, the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has inaugurated an Aquaculture Training Centre in Elugwu-Umuntu, Olokoro community in Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State, as part of its efforts to boost agriculture in the Niger Delta region.
Speaking during the commissioning, the NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, stated that agriculture was one of the key agendas of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, noting: “This initiative is a strategic alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically targeting the eradication of poverty (SDG 1) and hunger (SDG 2).
“The Centre is poised to become a cornerstone in these efforts, addressing these pressing global issues by empowering local communities through sustainable agriculture and skill development.”
Ogbuku observed that agriculture was one of the sustainable means of empowering women and youths, through the creation of jobs in the country.” This approach reflects the broader SDG strategy of promoting sustainable economic growth, providing decent work for all, and supporting resilient agricultural practices that contribute to the overall health and stability of the community, ensuring no one is left behind in economic development,” he said.
He assured that the center would address the challenges of unemployment by offering relevant training in aquaculture, promising that 50 youths from the Umuntu community would be enlisted for training in the centre.

The NDDC Chief Executive Officer announced that facilities at the centre would be improved upon and expanded to provide the necessary training, as well as enhance development in the adjoining communities. He said that the commitment to continuous improvement underscores the sustainability aspect of the SDGs, ensuring that initiatives introduced are not only beneficial in the short term but also contribute to long-term sustainable development.

Ogbuku said further: “Coming on board the NDDC management, we decided as a policy to ensure that all projects initiated by the Commission are completed and not abandoned. As part of our policy, we are going to slow down on awarding contracts for new projects and focus on completing ongoing projects.”

In his speech, the NDDC Director, Abia State office, and Representative of the state on the Board of the Commission, Chief Dimgba Eruba, commended the Managing Director for demonstrating dedication to the Commission’s vision of providing the much-needed sustainable solution to the socio-economic challenges of the Niger Delta region. This vision is in line with the SDGs’ holistic approach, which recognises the interconnectivity between economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection.

He said: “This commissioning ceremony is a testimony of the fact that NDDC is fully committed to the developmental plans and commitment of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to a Renewed Hope Agenda for a greater and prosperous Nigeria.

“The Aquaculture Training Center Umuntu is envisioned to be a skill acquisition hub and an economic catalyst that will empower a good number of our growing population on how to breed, raise and harvest fish, and make a profit from the enterprise.”

Eruba charged the people of the Umuntu Olokoro community to protect the “valuable and viable” project, as it would attract other physical infrastructural development around it. He remarked that the project would benefit not only persons from Umuntu and the immediate environment but also others interested in fish farming in Abia state and Nigeria at large.

In an address read on behalf of the community by Hon. Ifeanyi Umekwe, they thanked the NDDC for siting the Aquaculture Training Centre in their community. They also extended the appreciation of their Traditional Ruler Eze Paul Ogwubunka. They said: “It is important to note that this project has suffered massive setbacks like vandalism due to the isolated nature of the site. We will want to appeal to the NDDC to take into consideration the plight of our community, which has a serious problem of bad road network which has made life unbearable for our people.”
Giving a brief on the project, the Head of Project Monitoring and Supervision in the NDDC state office, Engr. Kingsley Azu said that the Aquaculture Training Centre consisted of eight fish housing tanks; two hatcheries, two lecture blocks; a six-room staff quarters; a four-room office block; a generator house and a power generating set. The facility, he said, also had eight units of solar-powered street lights and a water supply system, consisting of a borehole, an overhead tank, and reticulation.

The NDDC Director, of Agric and Fisheries, Mrs. Winifred Madume, appealed to the benefiting communities to see the Training Centre as their own and protect it from vandals and thieves. She noted that the sense of ownership and responsibility was crucial for the long-term sustainability of the initiatives designed to help achieve the SDGs, ensuring that these developments remain operative and productive for generations to come.