October 23, (THEWILL) – The Federal Government, on Wednesday, said that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is still in place and not affected by the scrapping of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
The clarification follows the decision of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), presided over by President Bola Tinubu, which in a major reorganisation and restructuring of Federal Ministries, on Wednesday, scrapped the Niger Delta Development Ministry.
“There will now be a ministry of regional development to oversee all the regional development commissions, such as Niger Delta Development Commission, North West Development Commission, South West Development Commission, North East Development Commission”, Presidential aide, Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement on X.
Speaking with newsmen in Abuja, Minister of Regional Development, Engr Abubakar Momoh, said the new ministry was created to superintend over all the agencies, including the Ministry of Niger Delta Development Commission, North West Development Commission, South West Development Commission, North East Development Commission and other similar regional bodies.
“For our people over there in the Niger Delta region, I would like them to know that that has not removed anything from them. The NDDC is still very much in place, which is still under the Ministry of Regional Development and all other such agencies are there. It’s just a question of change of nomenclature.
“All the structures and everything about the Niger Delta remains. It’s just a change of nomenclature and of course, an expansion of the activities of the ministry. So, I think it’s something worth to be commended”, he said.
