NDDC Has Failed Ethiope Federal Constituency, Our People Deserve Better — Okoko
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has been accused of neglecting the people of Ethiope Federal Constituency, with the New Democratic Congress (NDC) House of Representatives candidate for the constituency, Barr. Emuesiri Kelvin Okoko, demanding greater accountability and transparency in the execution of development projects.
Okoko made the position known in a statement issued on Wednesday by his Media and Public Affairs Aide, Comrade Okoro Ejiroghene Precious, titled: “NDDC Has Failed Ethiope Federal Constituency — Our People Deserve Better.”
Ethiope Federal Constituency comprises Ethiope East and Ethiope West Local Government Areas of Delta State.
The campaign organisation alleged that despite the oil-producing status of the constituency, many communities continue to contend with poor infrastructure, unemployment, inadequate healthcare facilities and poor educational environments.
According to the statement, “Ethiope Federal Constituency is a core oil-producing constituency.
Our land produces the wealth that sustains this nation, yet what we receive in return is abandonment.”
The NDC candidate’s team particularly raised concerns over what it described as abandoned and uncompleted NDDC projects across communities in the constituency.
It alleged that roads and other projects from Abraka to Eku, Mosogar to Oghara and other areas had either been abandoned or were progressing at an unsatisfactory pace.
The statement also criticised the alleged lack of effective youth empowerment and skills-acquisition programmes targeted at young people in Ethiope East and Ethiope West.
“Thousands of our graduates are roaming the streets. NDDC empowerment programmes rarely reach the real youths of Ethiope Federal. The list is politicised and our people are sidelined,” it alleged.
On education and healthcare, the campaign said several schools and health centres in the constituency require urgent intervention, alleging that some health facilities lack essential drugs and medical equipment.
It further accused the Commission of inadequate consultation with community leaders, youth organisations and women groups before projects are awarded.
According to the statement, greater stakeholder participation would help ensure that projects reflect the actual needs of communities and are properly monitored.
The campaign, however, acknowledged that the NDDC has undertaken projects across the Niger Delta, stressing that its criticism was specifically directed at what it described as the constituency’s unmet development needs.
“We are not saying NDDC has done nothing in the Niger Delta. But we are saying clearly: Ethiope Federal Constituency has been shortchanged,” the statement said.
The campaign consequently called on the NDDC, the Federal Government and other relevant authorities to publish details of projects awarded in Ethiope Federal Constituency within the last three years, including their current status.
It also demanded the urgent completion of abandoned road and electrification projects in areas including Eku, Abraka, Okpara, Kokori, Mosogar, Jesse, Oghareki and Ogharefe, while calling for a transparent empowerment system that would provide equal opportunities for youths across the two local government areas.
The NDDC currently maintains an online project database and says its mandate includes infrastructure development, healthcare, education, skills and job empowerment across the Niger Delta.
The Commission has also publicly reported the completion of the 9.6-kilometre Abraka-Oben Road in Ethiope East and the commencement of the reconstruction of the Abraka-Agbor Road.
The Okoko campaign said it would therefore seek greater scrutiny of NDDC interventions in the constituency if its candidate is elected to the House of Representatives in 2027.
“Barr. Emuesiri Kelvin Okoko believes representation is about accountability,” the statement said, adding that he would move for an audit and investigation of NDDC projects in Ethiope Federal Constituency.
The campaign concluded with the message: “We cannot produce oil and drink poverty. Ethiope deserves better.”
It stressed that its position was not aimed at fighting the NDDC but at demanding greater accountability and development for the people of Ethiope Federal Constituency.
