By Joseph Okon
The recent
activities of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), an
interventionist agency created by the Federal Government assist states
in Niger Delta have become a source of worries for all discerning minds
in Akwa Ibom State.
The issue of substandard jobs currently executed
in Akwa Ibom State is at alarming rate in the present management of the
commission. It’s very sad that some elements driven by interest are
trying to justify the current deceptive trend in the NDDC.
It has never
been this bad that an Akwa Ibom indigene who is currently the Managing
Director of the commission could go into an evil conspiracy against his
own people.
It is true that those justifying the current ineptitude of
the commission and its incompetent contractors are driven by greed,
interest, and not patriotism.
The alarming part of this plot is the
baseless justification of the scam called road construction by the
opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state as claimed by
the NDDC under the watch of Mr Nsima Ekere as MD.
This is insulting
the sensibilities of Akwa Ibom people; as if in Akwa Ibom State people
don’t have the knowledge of road construction.
What about the massive
road constructions done by the Udom Emmanuel led administration? Does
this not tell the NDDC management that Akwa Ibom people have sufficient
knowledge of road construction?
It is therefore sad to hear some
ignorance folks exalting Nsima as wining the hearts of Akwa Ibom people
with road constructions. The truth is that NDDC has not completed a
single road in Akwa Ibom state under the watch of Nsima Ekere.
The
so called roads construction is shoddy in nature which will not stand
the test of time. Thank God the rains are here; let’s see how far the
roads can last.
It is on record that roads done by NDDC can barely
last for a year because of the high level of compromise by the
management of the commission.
This situation made the Minister of Niger
Delta Affairs, Usani Usani furious when he visited Akwa Ibom to see the
roads and other projects the commission was undertaking.
He blamed the
situation on compromise by the commission management who award jobs to
incompetent contractors and share money.
What the commission is
doing in Akwa Ibom State is to pick-up roads, destroy and give false
impression that it has been completed. All they do is filled potholes on
roads in Uyo metropolis and list them as road construction.
When
did filling of potholes constitute road construction? Is filling of
potholes the mandate of NDDC? According to NDDC, filling of potholes in
Akwa Ibom State has become road construction.
What about the Federal
Road Maintenance Agency FEMA? If NDDC is now saddled with the
responsibility of filling potholes, what will FEMA be doing?
Within
the last six months, NDDC under the watchful eyes of Mr Nsima Ekere has
been able to filled 95 potholes in Akwa Ibom State in which they claimed
to be construction of 95 roads. The NDDC MD is using cheap propaganda
to get despicable popularity in his quest for 2019 governorship.
It
is important to note here that the Akwa Ibom State government is not in
any way in competition with NDDC over road constructions.
The state
government concern is that if road are to be constructed by the
commission, it should be a standard and quality road, and should meet
the standard of the existing roads the state is constructing.
With over 800 kilometers of roads completed and still counting, it’s
therefore safe for one to conclude that Governor Udom Emmanuel has won
the heart of Akwa Ibom people.
Unlike the corruption induced substandard
roads and lies being pedalled by NDDC. What is going on in Akwa Ibom
State in the name of NDDC road constructions is nothing but fraud.
There is no sane mind that will want to identify with the rubbish NDDC
is doing in the name of road construction.
How can a road which
compartment has already weakened and the existing asphalts expired be
name as road construction? All NDDC has done is putting asphalts on
dilapidated roads to cover potholes and claims it to be road
construction.
The Udom Emmanuel led administration has so far
completed over 800 kilometers of roads and bridges in less than two
years. Why then should APC propagandists think that Akwa Ibom people
will be fool to accept NDDC lies?
Having successfully perpetrated
the fraud in Uyo, NDDC decided to extend same to other parts of the
state in their desperate attempt to gain cheap attention through deceit.
Recently, the commission put up a number of road projects they intend
to construct.
They even included some of the roads already completed by
Akwa Ibom State Government and some ongoing projects of Governor Udom
Emmanuel.
The hatchet job was done intentionally to attract the
attention of some greedy politicians who may want to move over to APC to
get contract.
This is desperation taken too far; why claim already
completed and ongoing jobs done by the state government as part of NDDC
jobs? Is this not a clear display of fraudulent attempt to mislead the
people? It therefore means that he should not be trusted with any
serious responsibility. Little wonder he lost all the elections he
contested.
At the end, when Akwa Ibom people stood up and condemned
the criminal act by NDDC, the MD claimed ignorant of the very list he
approved for publications. He had already issued them fake contract
papers to would be contractors for a fee.
Nsima Ekere should save
NDDC this embarrassment by completing ongoing projects that litters the
state before embarking on new projects.
Though the contracts for
ongoing shoddy jobs done in Uyo were awarded by the immediate past MD of
NDDC, Ekere has failed to ensure that the contractors executed the
projects to meet the contract specification.
As a state in the Niger Delta, Akwa Ibom people deserves the best from NDDC, let them have it.
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