The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has begun the construction of a worship center at its headquarters in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State.
Samuel Ogbuku, NDDC managing director, said the worship centre will cater to the spiritual needs of staff and worshippers.
Ogbuku spoke on Wednesday during the groundbreaking ceremony led by David Ibiyeomie, presiding pastor of Salvation Ministries.
Emphasising the importance of having a dedicated space for worship, the NDDC MD said the goal is to create a space that offers solace, inspiration, and community for everyone.
“On resumption of office, when I toured the premises, I was shown a corner in the ancillary building where staff were using for worship and as their chapel,” Ogbuku said.
“I told myself that a facility like the headquarters complex cannot be complete if it did not have a special building for God.
“On December 23, 2023, when we had our end of year thanksgiving, I made a pronouncement that our next thanksgiving would be held in a proper edifice for the worship of God. The place will be specially designated and dedicated for Christian worship.”
Ogbuku said the Niger Delta region occupies a special place in Nigeria and deserves to have “good things”.
“I have moved around the country, and you find out that almost all the federal government agencies either have a mosque or a church,” he added.
“How come a region, where we have Christianity as the predominant religion, does not have a place for worship in our own commission?
“The chapel will be multipurpose. Anyone from the Niger Delta can have access to it; it is not only to come to NDDC to bid for contracts.
“This edifice is going to be for the good of the people of the Niger Delta and I know that once it is completed and commissioned within the next six months, we will all return here to hold our thanksgiving.”
Consecrating the centre, Ibiyeomie said NDDC would attract God’s blessings.
“Because NDDC has decided to honour God by building a worship centre for him, crises will cease in the commission,” the pastor prayed.
The NDDC was established to facilitate rapid and sustainable development of the oil rich Niger Delta region.
