The acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday alleged that some of the projects initiated by the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC for the region in the past years were not designed to succeed.
He claimed that the projects were deliberately meant to enrich some individuals.
According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, the acting President spoke while receiving a delegation from Bayelsa State regarding the $3.6bn Brass Fertilizer and Petro-Chemical Company that is expected to come on stream soon.
The delegation, which included executive members of the company, was led by the state Governor, Seriake Dickson.
Osinbajo was quoted as lamenting that only 12 per cent completion rate was recorded in several of the projects undertaken by the NDDC in the past years, while the rest were abandoned.
“Sometimes, projects are designed not to succeed, but just for some people to make money,” the acting President was quoted as saying.
Osinbajo, however, said the present administration was promoting a new way of thinking and engagement that would secure the development of the region and the entire country.
The new approach, which he described as the new vision, according to him, involves an active and effective collaboration between the government, the private sector and the communities.
He said the approach would ensure that whatever projects started would be completed.
“The Buhari administration is committed to finishing whatever we start. At the end of the day, we shall ensure that,” he said.
While commending Dickson for his proactive efforts, the acting President commended the collaboration that was ongoing regarding the Brass company, saying, “this is what we describe as the new vision: partnership between the Federal Government, the states, the communities and the private sector. This is the new way of thinking that is emerging, the new vision.”
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, on his part, described the idea of the Brass Fertilizer and Petro-Chemical firm as “a game changer that we need to encourage.”
He added that such ideas had the potential to change the economic model in the Niger Delta.
Dickson later told State House correspondents that the project was aimed at building a petrochemical plant that would produce ammonia and convert that to 1.3 million tonnes of urea per annum.
He said it would also produce methanol for industrial purposes, which would also yield about 1.7 million tonnes per annum.
He said while the state had a 10 per cent equity in the project, the remaining 90 per cent would be shared by investors from different countries and would create jobs and transform the economy of the state.
He said, “We came to discuss issues on the Brass Fertilizer Project billed to take off in Bayelsa. That is a big ticket investment running into billions of dollars.
“The government team is here, the traditional ruler is here because the project is taking place in his domain. We are here to assure the Federal Government that Bayelsa is safe.
“We have worked hard in the last five years that I have been governor to bring that about.
“And we have assured them that the state is safe enough for investors to come in to execute this very important project for our country.”
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