The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, at the weekend unveiled the multi-million naira state-of-the-art Strategic Naval Location in Bayelsa State, as he reaffirmed the commission’s unwavering commitment to advancing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Speaking in his hometown of Ayakoro Community, Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, where he built the location, which includes a fully furnished administrative block, accommodation block, two units of gun boats and an operational floating jetty, among others, Ogbuku emphasised that one of the primary responsibilities of any government is to ensure security and development, describing the two as inseparable pillars of national progress.
He noted that the administration of President Tinubu has provided vital support and played a complementary role in enabling the NDDC to execute projects such as the newly unveiled state-of-the-art Strategic Naval Location in Ayakoro.
He said, “This project represents part of the administration’s commitment to enhancing security in the Niger Delta. The President’s strategic investment in security has yielded tangible results — crude oil production has risen from one million barrels per day to 2.2 million barrels per day.”
“This achievement is a testament to improved security, stakeholder engagement, and collective effort,” Ogbuku stated.
“Those are part of the legacies we want to leave behind. We have so many projects that we are going to commission after now, in commemoration of our second year anniversary as Board of the seventh Governing Board of the NDDC.
“So all this we’ve been able to achieve. But coming to this particular project, the Nigerian Navy is going to be the beneficiary of this project, but it is also going to benefit the citizens of Niger Delta and the community where the project is located, because the project is aimed at protecting and providing security for the waterways of the Niger Delta, because every waterway is a gateway for criminals to perpetrate crime, but not until we’re able to secure all our waterways we will not be able to curb criminality.
“This is also one of such points, because this particular point was actually a location that was chosen by the Nigerian Navy because of its critical positioning. Because from this junction, there is a creek going towards southern Ijaw that takes you straight to Sangana. And if this place is not blocked in the past, kidnappers and all those who are involved in illegal oil boundary and artisanal oil refining carry their products from this place and they evacuate it from Onuembu.
“So with this facility here that cuts off such criminality from this area, that also cuts off those who want to perpetrate crime in Yenagoa by kidnapping and taking this as an escape route. With this facility here, they have no choice again that also protects the entire stretch of this river.
“I can assure you, since the arrival of the Nigerian Navy, crime has really reduced in the entire Creek, in this entire river, so that is the benefit of this facility,” he stressed.
Olusegun Samuel
About the Author
