From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has broken over two decades jinx regarding the construction of a befitting administrative headquarters for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The NDDC, in a statement heralding the commissioning of the edifice, recalled that the contract for the headquarters complex was awarded in June 1994 by the then Oil and Mineral Producing Development Commission (OMPADEC) to Messrs Marshland Projects Nigeria Limited.

The NDDC said the original scheme was designed by Messrs Eylon Meroni of Ramat Hasharon, Israel, in association with the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, now the Rivers State University.

The commission said defaults in payments of accumulated interim payment certificates (IPCs) by OMPADEC led to Messrs Marshland abandoning the site in March 1996.

He said the project remained abandoned for 13 years until July 2009 when the then management decided to review the contract, but re-awarded it to the same company.

“Unfortunately, the company could not drive the project to completion, even with the review. The commission was left stuck in a rented property (167 Aba Road), which had become grossly inadequate for its needs.

“Bureau for Public Procurement gave approval for the project to be re-awarded to Messrs Raycon Nigeria Limited and Messrs Rodnab Nigeria Limited in 2016 at a cost of N16,222,492,843.76.

“However, the completion of the project was again stalled by non payment of IPCs after 50 percent of the sum had been paid. This led to the contractors abandoning the site again in 2017.

“With the emergence of the second term administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, visited the site in September 2019 and made a commitment to the people to bring the 24-year construction to a conclusion.

“Accordingly, he ordered that the building must be completed within 24 months and payment of N300 million yearly to rent a head office building must come to an end,” the NDDC said.