Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has assured that its 650-bed hostel complex at the Niger Delta University, in Amassoma, Bayelsa State, will be completed and inaugurated next month.

Speaking during an inspection of the project, the NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, stated that the Commission was committed to enhancing the educational development in the Niger Delta region.

Ogbuku, who inspected the project in the company of the Vice Chancellor of NDU, Professor Allen Agih, the NDDC Executive Director, Projects, Dr Victor Antai, and other Directors of the Commission, stated that it was part of the Commission’s efforts to build the capacity of universities in the Niger Delta region.

He observed that the completion of the students’ hostel followed a directive from President Bola Tinubu to ensure that all legacy projects in the Niger Delta were completed and commissioned as quickly as possible.

The NDDC boss reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to strengthening collaboration with NDU in key areas, including infrastructural development, research, and youth empowerment initiatives, to promote sustainable growth and development across the region.

Ogbuku stated that the NDDC had built similar hostels at other universities across the Niger Delta region.

We have invested so much in education, not only at the tertiary level but at the primary and secondary school level. Recently, we acquired 45,000 U-Tablets for children at the secondary and primary school levels. This is to help them become acquainted with digital education. It can be used both online and offline, so that those who do not have money to pay for private tutors can also use it to learn.”

He said NDDC would assist universities in the region to ensure that their students undertake their studies in comfort.

“We are committed to doing whatever has to be done within our capacity to ensure that we add value to the educational system in the Niger Delta.”

Ogbuku observed that the NDDC had donated a 1,000KVA generator and a brand-new 23-seater bus to the university.

He noted that the hostel complex would improve the quality of education, enhance student welfare, and foster a conducive academic environment.

Speaking earlier during a courtesy call at the university’s Senate Building, the NDDC boss urged Nigerian universities to invest more resources and energy in research to ensure their self-sustainability.

In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of Niger Delta University, Professor Allen Agih, commended the NDDC for its sustained support in advancing education and infrastructure in the Niger Delta region.

He, however, called for more support in the areas of electricity and staff quarters for both academic and non-academic staff of the university.

Prof. Agih remarked that collaboration with the NDDC was imperative, given the university’s limited resources to pursue its objective of positively impacting the Niger Delta region.

The Vice Chancellor thanked the NDDC for donating electricity generators and transformers to the university and appealed for further assistance in addressing the university’s power supply challenges.

He expressed hope that, upon completion, the hostel would address the long-standing accommodation shortage that had affected students at NDU, stating: “The hostel will ease accommodation pressure at the institution. We have about 22,000 students, and only about 10,000 are residents on the university campus.

According to the Vice Chancellor, many undergraduates currently reside off-campus in remote communities, often encountering daily problems with transportation, safety, and limited access to campus facilities.

The NDDC Managing Director and his team also inspected the 50-bed Amassoma hospital, where he pledged to increase capacity to 150 beds and to include a paediatric ward, an Intensive Care Unit, and a laboratory.