Nigeria, Sept., 07, 2016 – The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has commissioned a landing jetty at Ifiang Ayong in Bakassi Local Government Area of Cross River Sate.
In addition to the jetty, two other community roads, Ibio Edik Road in Bakassi and Akpagu Parliamentary Road in Calabar municipality, were also inaugurated.
Addressing the Ifiang community during the commissioning ceremony, the NDDC Acting Managing Director, Mrs .Ibim Semenitari, said that the projects were executed as part of the mandate of the Commission to open up the various communities in the Niger Delta.
“I am excited about the project because it highlights the value of partnership between the NDDC and state governments. Such collaborative efforts are necessary to quicken the pace of development in the region.”
Mrs. Semenitari commended a former representative of Cross River State on the board of the NDDC, Mr. Oqua Edem, for enlisting the support of the benefitting communities and ensuring that there was adequate security for the contractor to execute the project. She also commended the contractor for doing a good job and delivering the project on time.
The NDDC boss noted that the project included shoreline and embankment of the jetty, car park, as well as a waiting shed. She added that the infrastructure would boost economic activities within the neighbouring communities and Cameroon across the border.
Speaking on behalf to the communities, Mr. Oqua Edem remarked that the jetty was one of the fastest projects executed by the NDDC in Cross River State. “We are very pleased with what the NDDC has done for the communities,” he said.
The clan head of Ifiang Qua, Chief Okokon Edem, thanked the NDDC for building the jetty, stating that it would open up the area for development within the communities bordering Cameroon.
Speaking in a similar vein, Evangelist Caroline Etom acknowledged the important role the NDDC was playing in spreading development in all parts of the Niger Delta. She assured the Commission that the Akpagu community would do its best to maintain the road built for them.
The NDDC team also inspected the Akim-Akim Road and the Adiabo-Eseku Road, both in Odukpani Local Government Area. The NDDC director of the Cross River State office, Arch Alex Okenwa, explained that the 15-kilometre Adiabo-Eseku Road was abandoned by the Federal Ministry of Works in 1998, adding that the NDDC intervened because of its importance as an alternative bypass from Odukpani to Calabar.
Another stalled project inspected at Adiabo was the erosion control project at Okurikang, Odukpani LGA. Arch. Okenwa told the NDDC Chief Executive Officer that the scope of the project was changed in 2007 and since then the contractor had done very little to check the erosion in the community.
