Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, on Friday, told the Niger Delta Development Commission to complete its abandoned projects in the state and forget about new ones.

Akeredolu stated this in Akure when the Minister of State for Niger Delta, Senator Tayo Alasoadura, paid him a courtesy visit as part of the commission tour to inspect its projects in the region.

Akeredolu said, “We don’t need new projects; the abandoned ones on ground should be completed,” adding that the “state is ready to cooperate fully with” the NDDC to complete the abandoned projects.

“I am happy you are taking it this way because there are so many abandoned projects in Ondo, and also projects that overlapped. It cannot continue like this,” he said.

The governor, however, lauded the forensic audit carried out in the commission, saying it was very important due to the many abandoned projects of the commission.
The minister had lamented that things were done with impunity in the ministry in the past.

According to Alasoadura, nobody was reporting to anybody while huge amounts had been disbursed by the commission on projects over the years but nothing to show for it.

Alasoadura said, “It cannot continue to be business as usual. As at today, NDDC has close to 12,000 abandoned projects, so if we decide to start awarding contracts again, we will be adding to the problem on ground.

“So, we decided and the president agreed that we should go for what we call legacy projects, and the first one is the Ilaje-Lagos link road.”

Credit: NAN