The wind of change sweeping through the Niger Delta Development Commission ( NDDC ) appears to have recorded more casualties as the Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Chief Henry Ogiri, and the Executive Director, Projects, Mr. Tuoyo Omatsuli, may have been axed from the commission.Although the Presidency is yet to issue a statement on the sack of the influential executive directors, but their offices at the headquarters of the commission along Aba Road, Port Harcourt have been sealed on “orders from above” since Thursday.

When THISDAY got to the office of the Executive Director, Projects on the 5th floor, it was sealed while his support staff were clearing his personal effects.

Indeed, some staff were seen sorting papers and shredding those they did not want to leave behind.

The 6th floor office of the Executive Director, Finance and Administration was also sealed while some staff seen at the corridor were congratulating each other on the exit of the big men.

A member of staff, who does not wish to be named, told THISDAY that the workers had long expected the sack of the executive directors who were obviously the next in command to the Managing director since the dissolution of the board of the commission in July and sack of the former chief executive, Chief Bassey Dan-Abia, in December, 2015.

Many workers of the commission were also seen in groups  discussing the development.

The two sacked executive directors were also conspicuously absent when the acting Managing Director of the commission, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, met with the management and staff of the NDDC yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Acting Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, has pledged to reposition the interventionist agency for better service delivery to the people of the Niger Delta region.

She made the commitment while addressing management and staff of the commission at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, yesterday.

She urged the staff of the commission to brace up for hard work. “We will ensure that we put the people of the region first. For that reason, we must make sure that contractors are not allowed to get away with shoddy jobs as we must insist on getting value for money spent on projects and programmes,” she said.

According to her, “Ensuring that contractors deliver quality jobs rests with the staff. If we do our jobs well, contractors cannot get away with poor quality jobs. Everyone should play his or her part. We will henceforth inspect projects before we pay contractors and only jobs verified and certified to be good will be paid for.”

Semenitari advised the NDDC staff to dust up their service rules as she intended to work according to the dictates of the rules and guidelines of public service. She reminded them that the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had set the ground rules that must be adhered to for the much-desired change in the country.

She said: “Those doing a good job will be rewarded and celebrated. But those who don’t do their jobs well should be ready to face the consequences. We need staff that are committed to the task of changing the Niger Delta region. Let us just do the right thing and it will work well for us.”

The new NDDC boss said staff must be alive to their responsibilities by being punctual and showing dedication and outmost commitment in the discharge of their duties, stating that hard work should be the watchword in the Commission from now on.

Introducing the acting Managing Director earlier, the Director, Corporate Affairs, Mr. Ibitoye Abosede, read the highlights of Semenitari’s career, noting that she was until recently, the Commissioner for Information and Communication in Rivers State. He said: “Ibim Semenitari, nee Toby, is an award winning investigative journalist, editor and publisher who worked for 26 years with some of Nigeria’s and America’s leading titles. She has also worked as Journalism Trainer/Editor with the BBC World Service Trust.”
Semenitari was appointed on December 21, 2015 to replace Chief Bassey Dan- Abia who was a member of the 4th Governing Board of the NDDC dissolved on July 16, 2015 by the Federal Government.

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