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The NDDC projects in Abia are facing high vandalism, prompting the commission to engage local youth leaders for protection.

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has sent a strong message to youth leaders in Abia State: stop looking at government property as "their own" and start seeing it as "our own."

During a recent stakeholders' meeting in Aba, the commission lamented the rising cases of project destruction. Dr. Anderson Ukeh, the Director of the NDDC Abia State Office, noted that many vital facilities have been vandalised by the very people they were meant to serve.

According to Dr. Ukeh, the goal of the engagement is to change the mindset of the local people. He believes that if the youths feel a sense of ownership, they will naturally act as security guards for these projects.

"We want the youths to understand that these projects belong to them," Ukeh explained. He added that the commission is now listening to the community’s demand for better engagement to ensure everyone is on the same page.

Providing more context, the NDDC facilitator, Ikechukwu Okereke, revealed that the commission has over 19,421 projects across the Niger Delta. However, the level of sabotage and neglect these assets face is deeply concerning.

Okereke identified several threats to these investments, ranging from political interference and social conflicts to plain old lack of maintenance. 

He advised that for any project to last, it must be driven by the needs of the community rather than political interests.

Responding to the call, the youths expressed their willingness to help but gave the NDDC a condition. They urged the commission to stop "politicising" contracts and ensure that locals are actively involved in the monitoring and protection of projects from the start.

By involving the people directly, both the NDDC and the Abia youths hope to end the cycle of waste and ensure that development actually reaches the grassroots.