Stakeholders, including journalists and members of civil society organisations (CSOs) Tuesday expressed concern over a forensic report of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) which indicated that over 12,000 abandoned projects are scattered across the region.
The report, according to the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, covers between 2001 and 2019.
The stakeholders cautioned that NDDC projects should not be used as political patronage and advocated for citizens to participate in the commission’s budgetary allocations and project execution in their domains.
This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a town hall meeting in Benin City, organised by Social Development Integrated Centre (SDIC) with the theme, “Community Approach to Promoting Accountability, Inclusive Efficient Service Delivery by NDDC.”
The meeting, according to the SDIC, was conceived in the frame of the ongoing project on “Strengthening Civic and Community Actions against Corruption in NDDC” and supported by the MacArthur Foundation.
The communiqué admonished citizens to make use of the Freedom of Information Act (FIA) and other legal instruments to get the budgetary allocations of the NDDC.
“And persons with disabilities should be included in planning and budgeting process of the NDDC projects, in line with global best practice,” it added.
