We are not owing security workers – NDDC

 

PORT HARCOURT – The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC has reacted to reports in the media claiming that Security workers of the Commission are threatening to carry out a peaceful protest over non-payment of their monthly salaries.

In a statement, Director Corporate Affairs, NDDC, Mr. Pius Ughakpoteni said that the commission engaged security companies that hire and pay security guards working at its various offices to safeguard facilities.

“These service providers are certainly not being owed for six months as alleged in the media reports”, the commission said.

The NDDC noted that Security companies for Delta and Rivers state offices, mentioned in the reports, have been paid up to July as at August 22, 2023.

“Hence, there is no basis for them to owe their workers arrears of salaries, especially as the contract they signed with NDDC has a clause that states that they must have the capacity to pay their staff for at least two months in the event of any delay from the Commission”, the NDDC said in the statement.

The commission assured security workers that monies meant for payment of their salaries were not diverted to other businesses as is being alleged.

“We, therefore, urge them to disabuse their minds of the misinformation in the media. It is necessary to add that the Commission has adopted a zero-tolerance policy for corrupt practices”, warning that any member of the public who has any evidence of such practices should reach out to the Commission for prompt action.

“May we remind our fellow Niger Delta brothers that the threat to protest at the Commission’s offices is no longer tenable, as genuine stakeholders in the Niger delta region have since embraced peaceful engagements since the emergence of the Dr Samuel Ogbuku-led management team.

“It is noteworthy that within a very short period of time, the Management team has laid the foundation for the rapid economic development of the region and put in place an enduring and sustainable governance structure for the effective operations of the Commission”, the NDDC said, re-stating that entrenching the tenets of accountability and transparency in its activities forms part of the thrust of the new Management.

“We assure our stakeholders and members of the public that the NDDC Management will not be distracted in its resolve to do things differently and make a difference in the Niger Delta”, the image maker of the commission said.