The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has said that it is working hand in hand with the Nigerian Army to resolve the issues in the Okuama Community of Delta State, News About Nigeria reports.
The acting Director of the Department of Dispute and Conflict Resolution, NDDC, Goddy Ogedemgbe, disclosed this while speaking at a Strategic Capacity Building on Conflict Management and Peacebuilding Approaches for NDDC’s Personnel in Port Harcourt.
He stated that the commission is committed to restoring total peace in the area, adding that efforts are being put in place to reduce conflict and usher in equitable development.
The capacity building themed, “Fostering Peaceful Engagement for Sustainable Development,” organised by the Peace and Development Project (PEDEP) in partnership with the Department of Dispute and Conflict Resolution (DCR), NDDC, according to Ogedemgbe, is tailored towards solving a lot of issues in the region.
He expressed his hope that the ugly incident in Okuama would not repeat itself.
“This training is going to solve a lot of issues in the region because the MD of NDDC, Samuel Ogbuku, is a man of vision. When they went to the economic summit in Akwa Ibom, there is one thing he said that the NDDC is transitioning from transaction to transformation.
“What that means is that we are going to be doing things in a more transparent way. This programme is the idea of the MD where NDDC personnel are trained as managers of conflict. Conflict should not arise before we move, but once we observe anything that leads to conflict, we move.
“Like the issue in Delta State, the MD of NDDC is working underground with the military to ensure peace in Okuama and in the entire region. To ensure that oil production is at the optimum output level, staff are going to be managers of conflict,” he stated.
He further maintained that the training will address the distrust and suspicion on the commission that the people of the region have over projects that have, in the past, triggered issues.
