Nigerians have been urged to remain hopeful and support the ongoing efforts by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to return the country back to the path of growth, progress and prosperity.
The Akwa Ibom State Commissioner on the board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Apostle AbasiAndikan Nkono stated this in an exclusive Interview with New Telegraph on Friday in Uyo.
Nkono, a former Vice Chairman of Eket Local Government Council area of the state described the president as a very courageous Man with lots of gut who is determined to turn around the fortunes of the country.
According to him, “President Tinubu is a man with guts. There was a time Nigeria was importing ice cream, tissue papers and toothpicks and I asked myself, how can we survive with such behaviour when we have raw materials here to produce these items by ourselves”
He averred that Nigerians will soon appreciate the enormous jobs the President is doing to turn around the economy for the good of all stressing that before now, the country had been an import-dependent economy, yet God has blessed Nigeria with crude oil.
He urges Nigerians to look beyond oil to improve our economy and return the nation back to the path of growth and development.
He further highlighted, “People lamented over the removal of subsidy because it was beneficial to the masses. But for how long can it be sustained? The bad side of subsidy is that it enriches only a tiny cabal.
“That is the network the President has succeeded in dismantling and the former beneficiaries are not finding it funny at all.
“Things will soon get better, the refineries will soon start working at full capacities and once production gets to its peak, the price of fuel will come down.
The President has started well and I pray for God’s courage and wisdom upon him. The foreign exchange market is another area he is battling to grip well because few people are controlling it and wish to keep manipulating it at will.
“But the President has waded in to dismantle the cabal too for the growth of the economy.
Speaking on the new governing board and management of NDDC, Apostle Nkono intoned, “I can assure you that the present board, led by Mr Chiedu Ebie and efficiently run by Dr Samuel Ogbuku as Managing Director alongside others, is here to change the narrative.
He added , “At several fora,, they have made the world to know that NDDC no longer operates on transactional basis but now operates on transformation scale.
“We are out to optimize our models as an interventionist agency and ensure the completion of any job awarded by the new management .
This new era has serious monitoring team that oversees the progress of any awarded project at every stage. The emphasis is to ensure usage of quality materials and delivery of job with specifications on time with good result.
“Our constant interface with contractors is in tandem with the mandate to address every challenge and close all loopholes to see the efficient delivery of projects within allotted time; there is no room for persons that lack capacity to deliver jobs and zero tolerance for failure and uncompleted projects.
“The board is building an agency people and financial institutions will be proud to deal with and honour all our obligations
“The managing director has always assured that his mantra is to build quality signature projects in the Niger Delta” He added.