By Jimitota Onoyume 

President of the South Carolina Organization of African Unity (OAU) and U.S. based Grand Knight Emeritus, Sir Tonna Okei,  has congratulated  the Governing Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), on their first year in office, saying that they were making commendable impact in the member states of the commission. 

The Agbor Delta state born Okei also hailed  the judgement of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which recently dismissed a suit filed by oil-producing communities in Bayelsa and Delta State. challenging the appointment of Chiedu Ebie, as Chairman of the commission. 

In his congratulatory message  made available to newsmen  Okei, emphasised that he was  not surprised at the ongoing quality and effective leadership  at the Commission as Mr. Ebie, a lawyer and technocrat is from a family of leaders and has been at the forefront of promoting a paradigm shift  that makes the government more responsive to the people.

He highlighted several landmark achievements under Ebie’s led board to include; the completion of the 132KV transmission line and substation in Ode Erinje, Okitipupa, Ondo State, which ended a 15-year blackout in Ondo South Senatorial District. He also cited the construction of the 25.7km Ogbia-Nembe road project in Bayelsa State, connecting 14 riverine communities through seven bridges and 53 culverts, and the ongoing Youth Internship Programme targeting 10,000 young people as examples of the NDDC’s renewed commitment to development among others.

Okei, further praised Ebie’s ability to navigate the complex challenges facing the region, noting  that Ebie’s leadership style was  grounded in deep knowledge of governance and the region’s developmental needs. 

“There will be no misunderstanding, no strife, and no internal wars between the Managing Director and the Chairman. I believe this NDDC board will be the best. Barrister Chiedu Ebie comes from a noble home and has the capacity, ability, and vision to lead the Niger Delta to the next level,” Okei stated.

Okei, who is also a Notary Public and the Asoju Oba of Oyotunji stressed that Ebie’s prior roles as Delta State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education and Secretary to the State Government equipped him with necessary insight to address the region’s most pressing issues. He described Ebie as a “5G thinker,” capable of seeing beyond immediate challenges and collaborating with global counterparts to deliver meaningful progress.

Recalling a conversation with Ebie shortly after his appointment, Okei shared Ebie’s four-step strategy for redefining the NDDC: “conducting a critical assessment of the commission, building a case management plan, implementing strategic interventions, and regularly reviewing progress to ensure effectiveness. “

“This approach shows that he knows exactly what he is doing, and I am confident that Barr. Ebie will lead the NDDC to the next level,” Okei added.

“He is a great thinker, a builder, and an enabler. I believe he is going to make us proud, not just in the Niger Delta, but across Nigeria,”, he said. 

In a related development, Chief (Elder) John Ehikwe, enjoined  all well meaning Niger deltans  and Nigerians in general to ignore all forms of distractions from mischief makers and give unflinching support to Mr.  Ebie’s led Governing Board of the  commission as     Ebie was  running the NDDC with the fear of God.

Ehikwe,  who was a  former Secretary of defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN Bendel State (Edo/Delta), noted that Nigerians were seeing the achievements of Ebie’s leadership.

He said: “I am not in anyway surprised by Chiedu Ebie’s sterling performance and transparent leadership style because Mr. Chiedu’s grand father was the first ordained Reverend of the Anglican Church in Ika nation whose two sons later became ordained Reverend gentlemen. 

“This is the type of family Chiedu Ebie hails from. Anybody or group of people thinking they can intimidate him into towing the wrong  way of running a public office that he is holding on trust, have to think again because he cannot depart from his family tradition”.