BBC Trust woman, Semenitari takes over from Dan-Abia as NDDC boss

The newly appointed acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mrs. Ibim Semenitari on Tuesday took over the mantle of leadership of the commission from the outgoing managing director, Sir Bassey Dan-Abia.

Speaking at the brief handover ceremony at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, Semenitari vowed to ensure that the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari to develop the Niger Delta region comes to pass.Ibim is known with BBC Trust programme where she crisscross the nation mentoring journalists. Her father was a former Deputy Governor of Rivers state and she served Rotimi Amaechi as commissioner for Information.

She said, “I have a responsibility first to God and then, to Mr. President and Commander-in-Chief, to make sure that his vision, which is to develop the Niger Delta comes to pass. I owe it to my region, to defend it and to develop it.

“In all my working life as a journalist, I made it my responsibility to expose the ills that have bedevilled the region. So, I have a clear understanding of what the issues are In the region.

“As a reporter, I have covered matters in the Niger Delta Development Commission. I was there from the first day; I was  there for the launching of the Niger Delta Master Plan. I did stories about it. So, I have in dept knowledge of what this commission ought to be doing.

“In all my working life, I have agitated for a better life for the Niger Deltans, because, I am a firm believer in the fact that because, we are the goose that lay the golden egg, we have the right to benefit from it.”

Earlier in his speech, the outgoing managing director of the NDDC, Dan-Abia, express the hope that Semenitari, who is the immediate past commissioner for Information and Communications in Rivers State, will bring her wealth of experience to bear in the administration of the commission.

He said, “My business today is to formally hand over to our sister, the true daughter of this region; somebody with track record, who I have no doubt will bring her wealth of experience to bare in the administration of the commission.”