Be patient with NDDC, Onochie urges contractors
*NDDC Board Chairman, Mrs. Lauretta Onochie
(Nigeria) Chairman of Governing Board of the Niger Delta Development
Commission, NDDC, Mrs. Lauretta Onochie, has appealed to the commission’s
contractors to be patient as the commission was addressing the
challenges delaying their outstanding payments.
Speaking during a courtesy call by a
delegation from the NDDC Contractors’ Association at the Commission's
headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Onochie told the contractors that
their support and cooperation were necessary in resolving the challenges.
She expressed regret that contractors who
had completed their jobs were yet to be paid, but affirmed that the commission
had set up a committee to streamline the payment of all verifiable outstanding
debts.
She stated: "One of the first things
we did as a Board when we assumed office was to look for means to address the
issue of unpaid bills. Please, be patient with us. Give us a little more time
to do our house cleaning."
She assured them that they would not be
neglected henceforth. "You are our partners in the development process. As
partners in the development of the Niger Delta region, we need your
cooperation," she said.
Onochie commended the persistence of the
leadership of the contractor’s association in fighting for their members. She
said: “When I hear about the backlog of debts to contractors, I get disturbed.
It is only fair that contractors who have done their jobs get paid for them. We
have set up a committee to work out modalities for paying the contractors.”
The Chairman said further: “We need the
support of all stakeholders to make the NDDC work in the best interest of the
people. Our mission is to ensure that the development of the Niger Delta region
is sustained.”
Speaking earlier, the Chairman, NDDC Contractors
Association, Mr. Joe Adia, stated that members of the group were critical
stakeholders in the development of Nigeria’s oil-rich region. He said: “We are
happy that a new Board has taken off. Before now, the contractors were having a
rough time. We believe that the coming of the new Board will bring changes to
the NDDC. We are ready and eager to partner with NDDC.”
Adia urged the NDDC leadership to take the
contractors into confidence while seeking for solutions, adding that the
Contractor’s Association would do whatever was necessary to assist the
Commission to ensure that all monies owed NDDC were paid.
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