commission a 64-flats residential quarters and administrative block for
security personnel in Rivers State.Speaking while inspecting the residential quarters built for senior
security personnel, the NDDC Interim Administrator, Mr. Efiong Akwa,
stated that the project would add value to the living conditions of
security officers posted to work in Rivers State.
He said that the NDDC was created for the purpose of intervening in the
life of the people of the Niger Delta, stating that the project was a
demonstration of the importance the Commission attached to security in
the Niger Delta region.
Akwa remarked: “We intervened in the housing sub-sector because we
realized that when Federal public servants are transferred to Port
Harcourt as the regional headquarters of the South-South region, housing
was usually an issue. Some persons transferred to Rivers State would ask
for enhanced housing allowances. Some will even refuse to come and
because of that most of them were ineffective.
“To address this challenge, NDDC decided to intervene by providing
houses for senior security officers to ensure that they are more
effective in their duties to secure the environment, because if our
environment is not secure, there would be no investment.”
Akwa said that the completion of the project was another major
achievement of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, noting:
“When people say that NDDC is not working, you can see that it is not
true. The problem is that people don’t get to know about the numerous
projects that the Commission is executing.
“The residential flats and administrative buildings have been completed
and would soon be commissioned. We will invite President Buhari to
perform another virtual commissioning in Rivers State.”
The NDDC boss promised to clear all outstanding Interim Payment
Certificates, IPCs, to enable the contractors to put finishing touches
to the project. He thus gave the contractors three weeks to complete the
finishing touches and hand over the project to the Commission.
He said: “This investment is going to help in improving security in
Rivers State, especially in the vicinity of the airport. It will surely
enhance the security of the Port Harcourt International Airport and it
will also add value to the economic and social life in the area.”
Commenting on the project, one of the contractors, Mr Stanley Aruah,
noted that it was started in 2013 and was supposed to be completed in
eight months. He regretted that delays in the release of funds stalled
the project.
He said that despite the funding challenges, the contractors still
continued to work to ensure the completion of the project, affirming
that the job would be fully done if money was released for the final
touches. “We are going to complete the project within three weeks as
directed by the Interim Administrator,” he assured.