Delta Governor and Vice-Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, on Saturday said Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and other institutions of government failed under the All Progressives Congress (APC))-led Federal Government because they lacked knowledge of their mandate.
Okowa stated this in his remarks at the Edo State PDP Presidential Campaign held at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City.
He said that PDP made a great choice in Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate because of his knowledge of governance and challenges bedevilling the country.
Okowa stressed that NDDC and other government agencies failed to deliver on their mandate for the people due largely to ignorance and ineptitude.
According to him, the PDP has made a great choice for the people of the Niger Delta because Atiku Abubakar understands the problems in the region.
“He knows all the states in the Niger Delta and it was during his time as Vice President that the Niger Delta Development Commission was established.
“The NDDC was doing well but in the last seven years, we have not seen the hands of NDDC in our states because those who came in, the APC government, don’t know the purpose for which the NDDC was established.
“A lot of institutions that were established before the APC government came on board have not been put into effective use because the APC-led Federal Government don’t know how the institutions came about.
“The PDP government knows how to run the economy in such a manner that it will be good for all the youths and the women and for all Nigerians.
“Unfortunately, in the last seven and half years, our economy has been marred by hunger; it has been poverty and poverty and our people are unhappy and dying.
“We have brought a man, Atiku Abubakar, who we know is going to revive our economy and ensure that there is creation of more jobs so that our youths will be gainfully employed,” he said.
Okowa added that “one other good thing is that Atiku Abubakar is the only man that understands the issues of the states – that the states need more money, the states need more power.