For connecting all the senatorial districts of Bayelsa State to Yenagoa, the state capital, the South South Development Commission, SSDC, is excited with the state governor, Senator Douye Diri.
This was the position of the commission’s managing director, and Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Usoro Akpabio, during a visit to Diri in Yenagoa. At the visit, she said the mandate of the commission was central to the region’s economic, environmental and developmental aspirations.
Saying that Diri’s decision to undertake ambitious road projects aimed at linking all parts of the state, Akpabio said the effort was in line with the dreams of the president in endorsing the birth of the commission.
She said the SSDC was established to serve as a catalyst for regional transformation by aligning federal development frameworks with state parities and supporting initiatives that improve the lives and livelihood of the people.
”The commission is founded on partnership and collaboration. We are here to support and strengthen states like yours with development efforts and not to duplicate them. We commend your administration for the sustained investments being made in infrastructure, connectivity and economic development.
“We are particularly encouraged by the progress recorded in opening up communities through strategic road and bridge projects as well as efforts to strengthen energy access through the independent power plant and other critical infrastructure.
“We also commend your visionary and state-owned air transport initiative and this bold investment will not only improve access to Bayelsa but also stimulate tourism investment and economic growth while strengthening economic integration across the South -South region,” Akpabio stated.
On his part, Diri charged the commission to carry along states of the region in its development agenda, even as he advised the management to collaborate with the governors of its catchment states in order to achieve the commission’s mandate, noting that the partnership was necessary to effectively tackle the region’s challenges and fast-track its development.
He contended that a situation where interventionist agencies embark on projects in a state without the input of the state government was an infringement on provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Land Use Act, which vested in governors the custody of all lands in a state.
His words: “The establishment of the South-South Development Commission is the culmination of advocacy over the years. If you recall, this is the region that before Nigeria’s independence demanded a special development status for its people, who felt insecure because they were far from the government at the centre.
”At the end of the day, we were recognised and we had the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority and much later the Niger Delta Development Commission. So, history is beckoning to you again.
”Governors are the repository of the mandate of our people. We cannot do anything without talking to them. It is a good thing that you came to see us and have a first-hand information of what we are doing. You even came first to a state where you have the chairman of the South-South Governors Forum.
”No government can solve all the problems on its own. There are areas that we will be very happy to partner with you. There is no way you can succeed without working hand-in-hand with the governors. So, we are willing to partner with you in pursuit of the prosperity of our state.”
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