The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief, (Dr.) Samuel Ogbuku has underscored the importance and values of the rich cultural heritages and tourism potentials that abound in Bayelsa State.
Ogbuku who stated this during the occasion of the 66th ‘Eyal Obein’ annual festival of Ayakoro community in Ogbia Local Government Area noted that the celebration of the festival is a practical and renewed step towards advancing, showcasing and bringing to the fore the dept, aesthetics and history of the community’s traditional and cultural heritages.
According to him, proper and sustained harnessing of these heritages are significant steps towards exploring the community’s tourism potentials which is capable of attracting tourists from all walks of life thereby fostering socio-economic development of not only the community but the state as a whole.
Ogbuku, a son of Ayakoro disclosed that NDDC as an interventionist agency established to boost socio-economic development of the Niger Delta states would continue to provide workable machinery, platforms and frameworks purposely for the conservation of the customs and traditions of the Niger Delta people which is one of the surest ways to promote tourism in these states, because the multiplier effect would go a long way in shoring up the revenue profile of the states.
The NDDC MD thanked all the dignitaries present at the occasion, noting that the Ayakoro community is peaceful which is a major consideration for all round development.
‘’Ayakoro is a very peaceful community, and so here projects are flourishing. There’s never been any encumbrance to any project awarded here. My advice to communities is that they should be peaceful and cooperate with contractors executing projects in their domain.
” A situation where communities impose all sorts of conditions on contractors executing projects in their communities would no longer be accepted. However, we’ll also not allow contractors to exploit communities when executing their projects.’’
The chairman of the occasion, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, a former Governor of Bayelsa and currently the Senator representing the state’s Western Senatorial District urged states of the Niger Delta region to collaborate with NDDC to fast track the development process of the area.
While commending the community for the preservation of her cultural heritage, he lauded Ogbuku for the remarkable achievements of the commission under his stewardship.
“The NDDC under the stewardship of Dr Samuel Ogbuku is doing well. Ogbuku and his team are carrying out the mandate of the NDDC meritoriously well.
“I want to thank Ogbuku for remembering that he came from a place. The projects I’ve seen in this community and other parts of the Niger Delta, including my home town, especially the solar powered lights and others clearly shows that Ogbuku knows where he came from. It shows that he’s completely linked with his people at home”, Dickson said.
