By Bassey Anthony, Uyo
Since its inception about two decades ago, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has been struggling to live up to its core mandate as an interventionist agency for the oil-rich but environmentally-battered and poverty-stricken Niger Delta region.
However, the Commission under the supervision of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has yet another opportunity to fulfill its mandate by providing lasting solutions to the myriad of socioeconomic and environmental challenges of the region and by extension facilitate regional development.
As a major move towards changing the sad narrative of the past, a three-day NDDC strategic capacity building workshop and retreat for NDDC stakeholders, directors, deputy directors and assistant directors was held at the Ibom Icon and Golf Resort, Uyo Akwa Ibom state between April 15th to 17th, 2021.
The theme of the retreat was ‘Collaborating, Planning and Re-Strategizing for a Better Niger Delta Region.’ The retreat was officially flagged off by the Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Senator Godswill Akpabio.
The retreat was essentially to fashion out means and ways by which there would be more stakeholders’ involvement in the planning, budgeting, implementation and monitoring of NDDC projects and programmes to ensure transparency and optimal delivery on the mandate of the Commission.
It is believed that why the region is replete with several abandoned NDDC projects put at over 10,000 across the Niger Delta, according to Akpabio, is because there was no stakeholders’ participation in budgeting, planning, execution and monitoring of projects and programmes.
Other key issues included the need for the engagement and contributions of and collaboration with stakeholders in the conceptualisation of projects and programmes as well as budgetary processes in order to create a sense of belonging and ownership.
The issues of the review of the NDDC Act for greater institutional and structural efficiency and improved funding of the Commission to enable it achieve its mandate came up.
There was also the need for the federal government to release arrears owed the NDDC, review the Commission’s master plan for the Niger Delta so that it would henceforth serve as a framework for the preparation of the NDDC annual budgets in line with the current SDG goals and UN Global Compact.
The need for states in the region to collaborate with the Commission to provide their long term development plans to synchronise them with the NDDC Master plan was discussed.
The lack of penalty for oil and gas companies which default in the remittances of their statutory contributions to the Commission also took centre stage at the stakeholders discourse.
In his keynote address, Akpabio set the template for the retreat stating that the NDDC under his supervision mulled the idea of the talk shop to enable stakeholders rub minds and re-strategise for sustainable development in the Niger Delta region.
Akpabio said, ‘’if strengthening the NDDC as an institution through its budget systems as well as through procurement, monitoring, evaluation and compliance processes is not delivered then the bells of doom would inevitably begin to toll harder.
‘’Several efforts at managing the oil and gas resources in a way which fosters the development of our communities where they are extracted have brought us to this day, to the existence of the NDDC and to this retreat.”
Akpabio called attention to the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan (NDRDMP) which was activated in 2005 but expired in 2020.
His words, ‘’There should be discussions of renewing the plan with the policies of the 17 SDG Goals incorporated in the new plan. It would also be healthy for the Commission to consider adopting some or all of the 10 principles of the UN Global Compact for carrying out business.”
In his opening remarks, the NDDC interim administrator, Mr. Efiong Akwa said the retreat was in furtherance of the ongoing consultations with internal and external stakeholders of the NDDC to distill commonalities.
‘’We are here today to work towards creation of commonalities among stakeholders for the speedy development of our beloved Niger Delta region.
‘’The NDDC is born again. Contrary to its distasteful past ways, the core of our new personae is continual consultations and collaboration with stakeholders to co-create commonalities for effective development of the Niger Delta,” Akwa said.
Stakeholders including National Assembly, traditional rulers and chiefs, oil and gas host communities, the international oil companies (IOCs), youth groups, Nongovernmental organizations and CBOs from across the Niger Delta region attended the retreat.
Interestingly, galaxies of renowned resource persons were on hand to engage stakeholders on the various areas of discourse.
Traditional rulers from the region, civil society organizations and youth leaders were particularly elated for the opportunity the NDDC gave them to bare their minds in the budgetary processes aimed at developing the Niger Delta.
The National President of the Traditional Rulers of Oil Mineral Producing Communities of Nigeria(TROMPCON and Paramount ruler of Ibeno in Akwa Ibom state, Owong Effiong Archianga stressed the need to carry stakeholders along in budget preparation and monitoring.
Others include: ‘’That the Commission would create a culture of budget realism by eliminating moribund items, ensuring clarity, harmonisation, stakeholders participation, effective monitoring and evaluation and post-implementation audits.
“That while there should be less emphasis on undertaking new projects owing to budgetary constraints in relation to outstanding obligations and the ongoing forensic audit, the Commission, being the foremost interventionist agency of the region, should continue to intervene to cut the infrastructural deficits in the region and in other areas of urgent need such as was done at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.’’
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