Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, offered a useful and wise piece of advice to the Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mrs Ibim Semenitari, when she recently visited his office in Umuahia, as part of her tour of the eight states of the Niger Delta.

The Governor pleaded that all stakeholders in the NDDC should not extend the unhealthy political atmosphere perpetrated by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and their rivals, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in their struggle for power and control of the states within the oil-rich region.

This call is timely and on point, and we support it without reservation. The politics of the 2015 general elections, the electoral tribunals as well as the rerun polls in Bayelsa and Rivers States exacted a heavy toll in human lives and property. Firearms and other dangerous weapons were freely used; a Youth Corps member was murdered and a party chieftain gruesomely beheaded.

Leading politicians, particularly of the APC and PDP, did not comport themselves in an exemplary manner and elections ended inconclusively. At the end of it all, the PDP is now in control of six of the eight states under the NDDC’s mandate – Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Ondo and Rivers – while the APC retains Edo and Imo States and took over control of the Federal Government. This is a dramatic departure from the past when the PDP used to be in charge of all the states in the region as well as the Federal Government.

The NDDC’s new helmsmen and stakeholders must learn to cohabit harmoniously under the new political mix and configuration, eschew bitter politics and unhealthy partisan differences and close ranks to improve the track records of service delivery in the Commission.

After all, partisan politics is only a means to an end, the end being good governance and delivery of benefits to the people. The NDDC is a core service delivery agency. It is not a political outfit, and it should not be politicised, as this will compromise its ability to contribute its quota to the development of the region.

We urge the Board of the Commission to consult widely among the critical stakeholders, especially the state governors, the youth organisations, oil community leaders and other legitimate vested interests to ensure minimum disruption of the activities of the Commission.

We also plead with stakeholders to adjust to the new political realities now steering the affairs of the Commission and offer every assistance to enable them  succeed. Grievances should be properly channelled and promptly addressed.

Irrespective of which party is in charge, the NDDC and other state agencies set up to uplift the quality of life of the people must carry out their mandates without let or hindrance.