The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), has indicated willingness to support the development efforts of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
This is coming after the visit of a delegation from the international organisation to the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt.
Speaking for the US group, the Director of the CSIS Africa Programme, Ms. Jennifer Cooke, said that the international community was well disposed to investing to facilitate the growth of the Niger Delta.
He added that getting it right was very important for the region and West Africa at large.
Cooke noted that the Niger Delta had enormous potentials that needed to be developed for the benefit of the people living in the region.
“The NDDC has a big opportunity to inspire people in terms of implementing the existing plans for the region. It is important that people are inspired on new ways of doing things. If you don’t want people to get fatigued, you have to inspire them to do things differently.”
The acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Mrs Ibim Semenitari, on her part told the visiting CSIS delegation that the commission needed the support of all stakeholders to succeed in the task of developing the Niger Delta region.
She stressed the need for local and international organisations to pull resources together to ensure that there was development in the Niger Delta, and noted that the world could not afford to ignore the region.
“If you don’t get the Niger Delta right, everyone suffers. There is a lot of wealth in the belly of the Niger Delta and it is way beyond oil and gas. We need the assistance of CSIS to take our story to the rest of the world.
“However, we are not looking for handouts. We don’t need that. What we need are partners who will work with us to bring growth to the region in ways that are sustainable,” he stated.
The NDDC boss and the CSIS delegation also inspected the on-going construction of the Niger Delta Regional Mother and Child Hospital in Port Harcourt, which had suffered some delays on account of poor funding.
Briefing the NDDC and CSIS team on the project, the prime consultant, Mr Peter Dateme, said that the 233-bed hospital would be completed in 12 month if funds were made available to the contractor.