The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has engaged the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, and Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, to train its officers to end the era of project abandonments and conflicts.
The Department of Dispute and Conflict Resolution (DCR) of the NDDC recently organised a capacity-building program, tagged “Promoting Awareness for Transparency and Accountability in the Public Sector,” which drew over 150 staff members from across the nine Niger Delta states.
The programme aimed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to uphold the highest standards of integrity and transparency in their work, marking a significant step towards a corruption-free public sector.
Speaking at the training, the Executive Director of Projects, NDDC, Victor Antai, noted that the training was to expose the workers to the knowledge that would empower them to be accountable and transparent in carrying out their duties.
Antai, who represented the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NDDCDrr. Samuel Ogbuku noted that the current NDDC has completed the majority of the projects it met upon assumption of office, adding that with the training more projects would be completed and commissioned in the region.
He noted that Ogbuku’s regime has zero tolerance for corruption, noting that the training would provide the staff members with the requisite knowledge on avoiding corrupt practices.
He said: “The coming of these Anti-Graft agencies to take our staff through their training is because the MD is moving the board from Transactionary to a Transformative NDDC that has zero tolerance for graft.
“With that, we can have more projects commissioned. With this we can have more projects completed. With that we will eliminate project abandonment, that is the regime of Ogbuku, who is poised to rewrite the wrongs of Niger Delta. He is committed to moving this region forward.
“Every agency of government has its own objectives of establishment. The objective of the establishment of ICPC is what we want to tap into, their experience and wealth of knowledge, to lead our people right to avoid the mistakes of yesterday.”
However, the Acting Director of Dispute and Conflict, NDDC, Barr Godwin Ogedemgbe, said NDDC organised the sensitisation to guide NDDC staff members against acts that could lead to conflict and corruption.
Ogedemgbe said: “We are working in synergy with the Anti-Graft agencies, ICPC, Code of Conduct Bureau, they are here to lecture us and teach us of what is expected of us as staff. So when we are carrying out our duties in the office we will not be found culpable. We are expected to follow the rules, this includes the ICPC act, the CCB, the EFCC acts.
“When we are working, we need to apply these laws so we will not violate any of the laws. We need to apply these laws so we will not get involved in any sharp practices, so we will not be invited to answer questions.”
NDDC Engages ICPC, CCB To End Project Abandonments is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
