The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) says it has begun construction of the Multipurpose Emergency Shelter designed to serve as a refuge during flood emergencies in the niger delta region.
Managing Director of NDDC, Samuel Ogbuku stated this in Abuja while defending the commission’s 2024 budget estimate of N1.911 trillion before the Senate Committee on NDDC.
In his presentation, Ogbuku said that from the proposed 2024 budget, N38.5 billion was for personnel while N29.2 billion was for overhead and N1 trillion earmarked for legacy projects
He said that the Multipurpose Emergency Shelter, which was a flagship of NDDC’s present administration with a capacity of over 1,000 accommodations, was designed to serve as a refuge during flood emergencies.
He told the committee that the facility includes essential amenities such as a school, hospital, cafeteria, police post, and recreation center, aimed at providing comprehensive support to the community.”
He said that once completed, the multipurpose emergency shelter would play a vital role in offering temporary accommodation and necessary services to the population in the event of emergencies in the region.
“The NDDC’s proactive approach in addressing the needs of the affected communities through such initiatives underscores the Commission’s commitment to enhancing emergency response and resilience in the Niger Delta region.”
Ogbuku further said that in the area of infrastructure, the commission came up with “Operation Light Up Niger Delta Region”.
“This has seen a reasonable number of the communities being lit up using solar powered street lights, which have boosted the economic activities of communities at night.
“In education, we have awarded foreign scholarships to 750 individuals between 2023-2024 (for 2022, 2023 and 2024 years) and provided educational grants to 84 individuals.
“Additionally, we are distributing 45, 000 Ulesson tablets preloaded with Nigerian and WAEC syllabus to schools in the nine states in the niger delta region.”
He said that the commission had flagged off a programme to enable enrolment of poor and vulnerable people into the various Social Health Insurance Schemes of the nine NDDC states.
Chairman of the Senate Committee, Sen. Asuquo Ekpenyong, while noting that although the budget was brought late, NDDC has recorded salient achievements like ‘light up Niger Delta’.