Confusion has continued to trail the recent empowerment programme organised by the Niger Delta Development Commission in Cross River State, as residents questioned whether the initiative was an NDDC intervention or a constituency project facilitated by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong NEGROIDHAVEN can report.
The commission recently held a skills acquisition and empowerment programme in Calabar for 500 beneficiaries from the Cross River South Senatorial District, alongside the distribution of 150 minibuses and 200 tricycles.
During the programme, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on NDDC, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, addressed participants and urged beneficiaries to make good use of the empowerment opportunities, while the Managing Director of the NDDC, Chief Samuel Ogbuku, represented by the Director of Commercial and Industrial Development, Lyna Okara, reiterated the commission’s commitment to youth empowerment and human capital development.
However, reactions on social media after the event reflected growing public uncertainty over the ownership and branding of the initiative, especially following the appearance of the senator’s name and insignia on some of the distributed vehicles.
Some residents argued that the programme was presented as an NDDC intervention but appeared to have been personalised politically.
Others, however, defended the senator, insisting that public officials who facilitate federal projects to their constituencies also deserve recognition.
The debate has since generated wider discussions on transparency, political branding, and public accountability in government-funded empowerment schemes.
