By; PATRICK TITUS
Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is a federal government agency established by Act 2000 by then President Olusegun Obasanjo-led government. The core mission behind its establishment, roots from facilitating the rapid and sustainable development of the region, into an area that is economically prosperous, socially stable, ecologically regenerative and politically peaceful region in Nigeria.
The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern states of the country which include, all six states to wit: Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta and Edo) from the South South geographical zone, Ondo from South West zone, Abia and Imo from South East geographical zone.
Recall the management of the oil and gas industry have over decades in Niger Delta, caused huge amount of land, water and air pollution, leaving the communities of over 30 million population of people living in the region frustrated and suffering the worse impacts of the activities in the region.
This sad development where the inhabitants lack access to basic services such as electricity, sanitation, primary healthcare services, good roads network and education, while unemployment rate was high, ensued before the establishment of NDDC in 2000.
Since 2000, the commission has evolved through six governing boards, with Mr. Onyema Oguchukwu as the pioneer Chairman of the the governing board. Available statistics indicate that these leaderships have made frantic efforts to improve the living conditions of the people and touching lives through projects embarked upon. These strides no doubt, have changed the narrative of the suffering Niger Delta states. Evidences abound in reduction of agitations and militancy which hitherto characterized the struggles.
Record shows that NDDC has initiated a total of 10,972 projects across the nine mandated states since 2001. These projects cut across roads/bridges, rural electrification, buildings and water projects among others identified projects and programmes such as the post-graduate foreign scholarship programme meant to produce top-level manpower to meet the current realities and needs.
Breakdown shows 7,653 projects already completed and put to use by the benefiting communities while 3,319 are ongoing. Rivers State topping highest on the chat has 1,618 projects completed – 666 ongoing; Delta 1,509 completed – 625 ongoing; Akwa Ibom 936 completed – 395 ongoing; Ondo 763 completed – 235 ongoing; Imo 738 completed – 327 ongoing; Edo state 668 completed – 303 ongoing; Bayelsa 659 completed – 409 ongoing; Abia 455 completed – 157 ongoing while Cross River got 307 completed – 202 ongoing.
Currently, NDDC under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, has a new governing board which was inaugurated on November 16, 2023 by the President, represented by the Honourable Minister of Niger Delta Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh. The new Board being the 7th, has Mr. Chiedu Ebie as Chairman, Chief Samuel Ogbuku – Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer and other members on the board.
On the occasion, the Honourable Minister handed down the charge when he said, “The inauguration of the Board means that we have accepted to be part of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and to that extent, we need to to be conversant with Eight (8) Presidential Priorities, ranging from Food Security, Ending of Poverty in inclusivity, Job Creation, Anti-Corruption Stance, Rule of Law and others. To that extent, you are expected to work towards delivering on those areas.”
The Minister however added, “We are also aware that there has been a lot of complaints about NDDC and I want to use this opportunity to appeal and also direct that this time around, we need to change the narrative. We cannot continue to do the same and expect that we are going to achieve a different results. Collectively, therefore, we must be committed on how the region can be transformed.”
Taking this charge into heart in the discharge of the given mandate, the new board swung into action of setting the goal to Making a Difference in the Niger Delta region, tagged: ‘The Rewind To Rebirth’ Initiative, and in line with the Eight Presidential Priorities, a strategic vision designed to help recalibrate her vision engagement with Niger Delta region as well as the NDDC’s overall Intervention implementation plan.
Given the set goal, the new Board and Management identified 10 key elements. These include Lighting Up the Niger Delta. It believes that lighting up the Niger Delta communities will boost economic activities, encourage investments in small-scale businesses, tourism and the hospitality sector. This is also expected to help reduce insecurity in the communities and the costly need to use privately generated power by businesses, which negatively impact the environment and contribute to earth warming.
Another identified element is improving youth capacity & skills base. Developing the Niger Delta graduates through the post-graduates scholarship programme, which offers specializations in key areas of the economy, offer greater incentives for personal growth. Idea is to trigger overall regional growth by providing skilled labour in the predominant oil and gas. It will also aid agriculture, information technology, project management and health. Skills acquisition programmes in sub-sectors of the economy such as deep sea welding and fabrications will also unleash the potential of Niger Deltans to the world.
Deep into the vision also, informed the just concluded 2-day Board and Management Retreat tagged: Renewed Hope: A New Era for Vitality, Peace and Development, held at Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in the Rafia City of Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
Setting the tone of the Retreat, the Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Chiedu Ebie said that the gathering,
which for the first-time, had former Chairmen and Managing Directors of the Commission being invited to be part of the Commission’s Board & Management retreat, equally brought together key stakeholders as participants and the array of best minds the region and indeed the country can offer as resources persons.
Among them on list were, Former MD/ CEO NDDC, Mr. Timi Alaibe; COE of TBT Solutions and Pioneer DG of Bureau for Public Procurement, Engr Emeka Ezeh; Former Minister and DG, Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mr. Frank Nweke. Jr.; Mr. Tolu Odukola, Partner, KPMG Nigeria and Dr. Joe Abah, Country Director, Development Alternatives Incorporated and former DG of Bureau of Public Sector Reforms as well as the Minister, Ministry of Niger Delta Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh who presented a keynote address, who also signed a Performance Bond between the Ministry of Niger Delta Development and the NDDC.
According to Mr Ebie, the event was considered necessary as it was tailored to provide the management and the board, with some tools that would put them on path to sustainable development and the delivery of renewed hope for the people of the region, as well as the restoration of Niger Delta to its position as the most blessed region in Africa.
He said that the 10 key elements that the new board and management has developed in line with the Renewed Hope Vision is designed to help the Commission strengthen its structures and institutions, sharpen its processes and operational protocol, build a workforce that is efficient, effective and professional in its service and project delivery.
The Minister, Ministry of Niger Delta Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh presented a keynote address, urged the new board to enthrone an era of transparency while also called for constant monitoring and evaluation of compliant by contractors and to ensure that projects stand the test of time. He signed a Performance Bond between the Ministry of Niger Delta Development and the NDDC.
Chairman, Senate Committee on NDDC, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong made reflections on the long-suffering people of the region, identifying that pollution has caused respiratory issues, same as Oil exploration which he noted, has led to displacement of some communities. Sen Ekpenyong raised the need to create a new blueprint for energy generation that is sustainable and environmentally friendly. Urged NDDC to find a way to monitor oil spillages, improvement of agriculture through the use of drones and other technology.
The resolutions reached at the end of the retreat identified among points stating; A reviewed and updated Niger Delta Regional Developmental Masterplan remains a crucial framework for guiding and implementing development initiatives in the Niger Delta, as there can be no sustainable development without developmental plans.
That the frequent changes in the Governing Board of the Commission have largely accounted for the challenges in project execution and delivery in the development of the region. Thus, the Federal Government should ensure that the current Board completes its tenure and that there is continuity in succeeding Boards to ensure sustainability of the Commission’s projects.
There is need for proper synergy, collaboration and coordinating framework between the Ministry of Niger Delta Development, State Governments in the regions, the NDDC and development partners.
That procurement is at the heart of governance and one of the government activities most vulnerable to corruption. Therefore, the Board and Management of the NDDC must effectively discharge their responsibility to manage the Procurement process involving all stakeholders, without sacrificing the core objectives as provided under the Procurement Act.
There is the need for the urgent release of all outstanding statutory contributions of the Federal Government to the NDDC fund, as the non-release of these funds has significantly hampered the ability of the Commission to deliver on its mandate.
In view of the peculiar construction window of the Niger Delta region, there is the need for some form of financial autonomy for the NDDC outside the Treasury Single Account (TSA) regime. This is as part of the process of getting the Commission take advantage of traditional credit sources in completing its projects and deliver real impact and sustainable development to the longsuffering people of the region.
The Commission should establish clear, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound (SMART) goals that the Commission will demonstrably commit to and deliver upon, fostering increased public trust.
The retreat also viewed that the main purpose of all reform must be the improvement of the lives of the people. Reforms tailored to the local context have a better chance of success. Therefore, the NDDC must deploy creativity and innovation to drive reforms and development in the region.
There is need for intentional partnerships and conflict management imperatives to secure value. Therefore, Stakeholder engagement and management must be strategic and improved continuously.
Conclusively, the NDDC Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Chief Samuel Ogbuku acknowledged the sacrificed made by the past regimes as well as Board and managements to get NDDC where it is today, saying a lot has been done, that in some rural communities the only government presence is NDDC projects, therefore would not be right for anybody to tag the Commission to be a failure so far.
Chief Ogbuku however admitted that, honest mistakes may have been made due largely to persons in the Niger Delta who had the responsibility to handle some projects but some lacked the capacity to deliver. The intent, he noted was to empower the people of the region while also hope to deliver on the job specifications given.
He hinted that the new NDDC Board and Management has come up with triple T. Transiting from Transaction to Transformation to ensure sustainability in everything they do. This also means transforming both the development and individuals in the Niger Delta. The new regime has introduced Project Hope, envisaged to be a sustainable approach to training and engaging the Niger Delta Youth.
Project Hope is registering youths of the Niger Delta online to have a data base so as to be able to plan for them for opportunities in the area of ICT, and to build a set of youth who are good in Tech and can be outsourced to other parts of the world.
Similarly, Commission has created a structure to bring together entrepreneurs in the Niger Delta through Niger Delta Chambers of Commerce to identify verified businesses. All these are designed to create sustainability and block every hold of wastage.
As visionary leaders with integrity to drive the discharge of the Commission’s mandate, to translate to tangible impact on the lives of the people and communities in the region, Chief Ogbuku, again made bold to say without mincing words that, the Commission under their watch, will explore means of reducing recurrent expenditure. It will focus on completing capital projects, approve only projects with capacity to add value to the region.
“Our commitment is to work together towards transforming the region, in accordance with the 8-Point Presidential Priorities, and the demands of the NDDC Act of 2000. Above all, We are determined to make Mr President proud. We are committed to ensure we become a trophy to the President.” He stressed.
The Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, represented by his deputy, Sen Akon Eyakenyi, who declared the two-day retreat open said that the state government was ready to collaborate with NDDC to drag development to the state.
