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Tag: NDDC

  • NDDC urges monarchs to join Fed Govt’s anti-oil theft crusade

    NDDC urges monarchs to join Fed Govt’s anti-oil theft crusade

    • ’ National Assembly has okayed commission’s N300b 2024 budget’ 

    Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has urged monarchs in the region to assist the Federal Government and security agencies in curbing oil theft and pipeline vandalism.

    Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Alabo Boma Iyaye, made the appeal during an interactive session with members of the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, at their headquarters in Port Harcourt.

    Iyaye, in a statement signed by the NDDC Director, Corporate Affairs, Pius Ughakpoteni, urged the traditional rulers to play a key role in checking the activities of oil thieves in their domains.

    He said: ”We need the traditional institution to assist the government and security agencies to protect our oil assets. Your majesties, you have big roles to play to protect our oil assets and projects.

    “If there is no oil theft, there will be more allocation for the Niger Delta. I urge you all to try as much as you can to protect our resources and stop economic sabotage in our region.

    “We recognise the importance of the traditional rulers. Addressing this council today is a great privilege. It is like

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    addressing the entire Rivers State through traditional rulers, representing the 23 local governments of the state.

    “Rivers State is one of the major oil producers in Nigeria, contributing about 33 per cent of the oil revenue of the country. No government can afford to disregard the state.”

    Iyaye said the National Assembly had approved the commission’s N300billion budget, adding that the money would be deployed in the states in the region.

     He said: “I want to assure you that 2024 will be a better year for all of us. The NDDC board will meet with you again at the appropriate time to exchange ideas. 

    “The National Assembly has approved over N300 billion in the budget for the Niger Delta and the NDDC board will deploy the money for development projects in the states.”

    Rivers State representative on the board of NDDC, Chief Tony Okocha, said the current board would bring positive change in the region.

    He said: “NDDC has had a negative trajectory over the years, but we assure you that this new NDDC, through the initiatives of the current board will bring positive change. 

    “We have started the process of change, which conforms to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. This interactive session is an indication that we have set the ball rolling.”

    Okocha lamented that Rivers State had about 953 uncompleted projects, noting that the interaction would help to find out what happened.

  • ‘Why NDDC has over 900 abandoned projects in Rivers’

    ‘Why NDDC has over 900 abandoned projects in Rivers’

    Rivers State representative on the board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Tony Okocha, has described incessant dissolution of NDDC board by the Federal Government as one of the factors affecting the development of Niger Delta.

    Other factors, Okocha noted, included non-payment of contract sum to contractors and lack of refund of money spent by contractors, who went to site without mobilisation by the board. 

    He spoke yesterday when he led key officers of NDDC state office and some commission workers to visit members of the state Council of Traditional Rulers.

    The visit also served as an interactive forum between the visitors and NDDC.

    Addressing the council, he said the state ranks number two on the list of states that have the highest number of abandoned projects in the region, with 953 uncompleted.

    Okocha said NDDC projects littered the state.

    Read Also: ‘NDDC has secured agreement with WHO on health insurance’

    “One of the things that have bedevilled this developmental stride of government is the inconsistencies of government. Three months down the line, a board is set up, after another three months the same board is dissolved, and within the period they had existed, they would have awarded contracts to people, sometimes the work is done without mobilisation, people use their money to go to the field and don’t get their money paid. “Another aspect of this is that the new board that was constituted will now award their own contracts to also make their own name and probably get their own cuts. This has been our problem,” he added.

    The Executive Director, Finance and Administration (EDFA), NDDC, Boma Iyaye, spoke on the need for traditional rulers to protect government pipelines in their domains from attacks by crude oil thieves.

    He said improved production of crude oil by the Federal Government would guarantee increased resources to carry out more developmental projects across the region.

    He said NDDC annual budget has hit over N300 billion under the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, as against the usual N100 and something billion it had been in past administrations.

    The Chairman of the council, Sergeant Awuse, said the visit was the first of its kind since the inception of NDDC and expressed gratitude to Okocha for the show of respect and recognition to members of the council.

    He prayed God to help him succeed in office.

  • ‘NDDC has secured agreement with WHO on health insurance’

    ‘NDDC has secured agreement with WHO on health insurance’

    The Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr. Samuel Ogbuku, has confirmed that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has agreed to partner the commission to implement health insurance project and other programmes that will benefit the people of Niger Delta.

    Ogbuku, in a statement signed by the NDDC’s Director, Corporate Affairs, Pius Ughakpoteni, said the commission recently held a meeting with WHO officials and made a presentation on a health insurance project for the Niger Delta.

    Ogbuku said: “WHO is discussing with us on our health programmes. In fact, they have written to us, saying they want more meetings to explore collaborations in the execution of our free health care programme. They want to add professionalism and credibility to what we are doing.

    “The participation of WHO in our medical outreach programme will ensure that those vaccines that we don’t have access to, are procured through them for the benefit of our people.

    “We are not only looking at what they will bring to us in terms of funding, we are also looking at their contacts, reach and expertise in the medical field.”

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    Ogbuku said NDDC was equally discussing with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the areas of youth development and rebuilding public trust to enhance service delivery in the Niger Delta.

    Speaking about collaborations with other organisations, Ogbuku noted that the NDDC had made significant gains since it embraced Public-Private Partnership (PPP), as a major policy thrust.

    He said: “Partnership is one of the major ways to achieve sustainable development in the Niger Delta and it is important that NDDC, as the driver of development in the region, stays at the forefront of building the right partnerships.”

    The NDDC boss said that the PPP arrangement went beyond collaborations with International Oil Companies (IOCs), as it extended to other critical sectors such as health, education and youth development.

    Ogbuku said: “In some areas, we are seeking technical assistance, not necessarily money. I can assure you that the PPP programme is gaining momentum and it is also gaining the interest of a lot of people. 

    “We are looking for technical support in the area of training for our workers, because we need properly trained workers that will be able to lead most of our programmes and they need to be updated on a regular basis.

    “Some of these collaborations, especially the ones from the private sector, need to be studied carefully, because we can’t afford to mortgage the interest of our people. We are not just working for ourselves; we are representing the people of the Niger Delta and we must ensure that the right decisions are made.”

    He said  there had been positive fall-out from the partnership arrangements and cited the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the NDDC and the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) to collaborate in diverse fronts in the delivery of sustainable development projects.

    Reacting to concerns about the approach of the current NDDC board to the policies introduced before their inauguration, Ogbuku said the board members were happy with the initiatives and had keyed into them.

    He said: “We have had opportunities to interact with members of the board, especially the chairman, and they were convinced on the need for the programmes. In some cases, they asked for details of the key programmes.

    “In our last board meeting, our consultant on Holistic Opportunity Projects of Engagement, HOPE, made a presentation and the board members were impressed. They have also requested that we have a meeting with KPMG to also make a presentation on the progress in producing a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to cover all aspects of the commission’s activities and transactions.”

    Ogbuku expressed satisfaction with the synergy between the board and management, attributing it to the experience and knowledge of the board Chairman, Mr. Chiedu Ebie. 

    “The chairman has a rich administrative background in both public and private sectors. Certainly, we will achieve more together as management and board, because if there is one thing we must do, it is to work together to bring development to the people of the Niger Delta,” he said.

  • NDDC secures partnership with WHO on health insurance for Niger Delta

    NDDC secures partnership with WHO on health insurance for Niger Delta

    The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Samuel Ogbuku, has confirmed that the World Health Organisation (WHO) agreed to partner with the commission to implement a Health Insurance Project and other programmes that will benefit the people of the Niger Delta region.

    Ogbuku in a statement signed by the NDDC’s Director, of Corporate Affairs, Pius Ughakpoteni, disclosed that the commission recently held a meeting with WHO officials and made a presentation on a Health Insurance Project for the Niger Delta region.

    Ogbuku said: “The World Health Organisation is discussing with us our health programmes. They have written to us, saying that they want more meetings to explore collaborations in the execution of our free healthcare programme. They want to add professionalism and credibility to what we are doing.

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    “The participation of WHO in our medical outreach programme will ensure that those vaccines that we don’t have access to, are procured through them for the benefit of our people.

    “We are not only looking at what they will bring to us in terms of funding, we are looking at their contacts, reach, and expertise in the medical field.”

    Ogbuku said that the NDDC was also discussing with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the areas of youth development and rebuilding public trust to enhance service delivery in the Niger Delta region.

    Speaking on collaborations with other organisations, Ogbuku noted that the NDDC had made significant gains since it embraced the Public-Private Partnership, PPP, as a major policy thrust.

    He said: “Partnership is one of the major ways to achieve sustainable development in the Niger Delta region and it is important that NDDC, as the driver of development in the region, stays at the forefront of building the right partnerships.”

    The NDDC boss said that the PPP arrangement went beyond collaborations with International Oil Companies (IOCs) as it extended to other critical sectors such as health, education, and youth development.

    Ogbuku said: “In some areas, we are seeking technical assistance, not necessarily money. I can assure you that the PPP programme is gaining momentum and it is also gaining the interest of a lot of people.

    “We are currently looking for technical support in the area of training for our staff because we need properly trained staff that will be able to lead most of our programmes and they need to be updated regularly.

    “Some of these collaborations, especially the ones from the private sector, need to be studied carefully because we can’t afford to mortgage the interest of our people. We are not just working for ourselves; we are representing the people of the Niger Delta and we must ensure that the right decisions are made.”

    Ogbuku said there had been positive fall-out from the partnership arrangements and cited the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the NDDC and the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) to collaborate on diverse fronts in the delivery of sustainable development projects.

    Reacting to concerns about the approach of the current NDDC Board to the policies introduced before their inauguration, Ogbuku said that the board members were happy with the initiatives and had keyed into them.

    He said: “We have had opportunities to interact with members of the Board, especially the Chairman, and they were convinced of the need for the programmes. In some cases, they asked for details of the key programmes.

    “In our last board meeting, our consultant on Holistic Opportunity Projects of Engagement, HOPE, made a presentation and the board members were impressed. They have also requested that we have a meeting with KPMG to also make a presentation on the progress in producing a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to cover all aspects of the Commission’s activities and transactions”.

    Ogbuku expressed satisfaction with the synergy between the Board and Management, attributing it to the experience and knowledge of the Board Chairman, Mr. Chiedu Ebie

    “The Chairman has a rich administrative background in both public and private sectors. Certainly, we will achieve more together as Management and Board, because if there is one thing we must do, it is to work together to bring development to the people of the Niger Delta region.”

  • NDDC to intensify light up Niger Delta campaign to check crime

    NDDC to intensify light up Niger Delta campaign to check crime

    The Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC) has promised to intensify its efforts to light up communities across the nine states of the Niger Delta, with solar-powered streetlights, as part of measures to fight criminality and maintain peace in the region.

     The NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, in a statement signed by the commission’s Director, Corporate Affairs, Pius Ughakpoteni, stressed the importance of the campaign, especially to security in Nigeria’s oil-rich region.

      He expressed delight at the positive impact of the “Light Up the Niger Delta” campaign, which he observed had reduced criminality in the various communities and enhanced commercial activities in the areas.

     He said: “We thought it was necessary to create the right environment for our people to live in peace by reducing criminal activities in our communities, because most of these communities have become hideouts for criminals who operate under the cover of darkness.

    “We decided to adopt the clean energy approach which not only provides light but also helps in the fight to mitigate the effects of climate change on our environment. I can assure you that the incidence of crime has reduced in most of these communities.”

     Ogbuku pledged that many communities across the Niger Delta region would benefit from the solar-powered street light projects, which, he said, the NDDC was pursuing with vigour.

    Addressing the issue of stakeholders’ engagement, the Managing Director observed that such engagements were instrumental to maintaining peace in various communities. He re-stated that no development would take place in a crisis-prone environment.

    He said: “One of the cardinal policies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is stakeholders’ engagement and that is one area the NDDC is doing very well and we are getting good results from it.”

    Ogbuku urged Niger Delta youths to continue to support the policies and programmes of the Federal Government “because Mr. President means well for the people of the Niger Delta region.”

    Read Also: NDDC distributes palliatives to Bayelsa communities

    “With peace in the Niger Delta, you can be sure that there will be development and prosperity in the region. Mr. President sent us to the NDDC to make a difference and not to be bogged down by the ills of the past.”

    Speaking on the 2024 budget, Ogbuku noted that the sources of income for the Commission were the Federal Government and the International Oil Companies, IOC’s.

    He prayed that the oil companies would be consistent with their contributions, while the government will improve on its allocations to the Commission.

    He said: “In our budget, we are trying to create a threshold for old debts, so that while we are paying debts, it will not affect the execution of new projects.

    “As part of our managerial skill, we must be able to strike a balance between payment of old debts and financing new projects. We cannot sit down here and be paying debts without also doing new things for the people of the Niger Delta.

    “We will ensure that we don’t exceed our threshold on payment of old debts. That way, funding for new projects will not suffer.  Most of the international organisations we are discussing with know that we are indebted and they want to see our plan for liquidating the debts.”

  • NDDC distributes palliatives to Bayelsa communities

    NDDC distributes palliatives to Bayelsa communities

    Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC) has distributed palliatives to flood-prone communities across the eight local governments of Bayelsa State, as part of its efforts to mitigate the effects of the disaster on the people of the state.

    Speaking during the handover of the various palliatives in Yenagoa, the NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, said the distribution of the relief materials was the commission’s response to the challenges confronting the people and a way of cushioning the effects of the perennial flooding in many communities across the state.

    The Managing Director, who was represented by the NDDC Director, Procurement, Dr. Week Doodei and the Director of the Bayelsa State office of the Commission, Godknows Alamieyeseigha, explained that the palliatives were handed over to the representatives of the various communities to help them tackle their problems.

    Ogbuku in a statement by the Director Corporate Affairs, Pius Ughakpoteni, reaffirmed the NDDC’s commitment to ameliorate the challenges facing the people of the Niger Delta region.

    He said:  “We share in the pains of the victims of the flooding in Bayelsa State. We realise that they have lost a lot which cannot be replaced. We assure you that the NDDC has very good programmes for the people of the Niger Delta region and as many people as possible will benefit from the distribution of the palliatives.”

    Read Also: Oil/gas hostcom demands inclusion in NDDC’s appointments, others

    He urged community representatives in the flood hit areas to judiciously distribute the materials, which included food and household items, farm inputs, and livelihood items such as canoes, fishing nets, hooks, among others, to ensure that flood victims had something to fall back on after their losses.

    He said: “The NDDC is not only about building roads and physical infrastructure. We also intervene in social services. We will monitor the distribution of these palliatives to ensure that they get to the affected areas.

    “This intervention will take place in all the NDDC mandate states because the Commission was set up to address situations such as this.”

    Ogbuku appealed to the benefiting community leaders to ensure that the items got to the vulnerable people in their areas, warning that hoarding and diversion of the items would not be tolerated.

    After inspecting the relief materials loaded on many trucks, the representatives of the NDDC boss directed the community leaders to ensure that the various items were taken to the different local government areas and communities where they would be distributed.

  • Oil/gas hostcom demands inclusion in NDDC’s appointments, others

    Oil/gas hostcom demands inclusion in NDDC’s appointments, others

    Ekpeye Oil & Gas Pipeline Host Families Association (EOG) in Ahoada, Rivers State, has advocated the inclusion of its ethnic nationality in appointments to petroleum-related government agencies, especially Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    The association said the request was premised on the fact that Ekpeye ethnic nationality is feeding the economies of the states and the Federal Government through resources extracted from its land, unlike most members of the board of the NDDC.

    The National Chairman of the group, Dogini Chidi, made the call yesterday during its 2023 annual celebration and sensitisation programme, tagged: ‘Peaceful Coexistence in the Oil and Gas Host Communities.’

    Dogini described the neglect of the area as worrisome, saying about 45 per cent of present day crude is got from the area and there is nothing to show for it.

    The EOG boss, who stressed that the association was determined to redress the long time neglect and marginalisation of Ekpeye people by governments at all levels and the International Oil Companies (IOCs), boasted that the association was poised to make a difference.

    He said to succeed in its lofty vision, the group is ready to work with all strata of the society to change the narrative of decades of total neglect meted out to the people.

    Dogini said the lukewarm attitude of many individuals from oil and gas bearing communities had robbed them of many opportunities, but hinted that the sensitisation by the group on the social ills of the IOCs had awoken most of the people to the reality and their rights.

    He said EOG had made the people realise their rights in the oil and gas business, adding that through the group, the people had known what was due to them as oil and gas producing communities.

    He queried why the people would be lacking in the midst of surplus, and blamed the security challenges bedevilling the area on the insensitivity of the IOCs and their system of causing chaos and disunity in areas of operations.

    Dogini said: “We wonder why a people so richly blessed will wallow in abject poverty and total neglect. We, therefore, appeal to the Federal Government to redress the situation by appointing people of Ekpeye extraction into petroleum-related boards.  

    “On the excuse of the IOCs that the area is insecure, the companies are part of the problems we have in Ekpeye land. The companies come with a ‘divide and rule’ pattern.

    “They create division where there was none. What they are after is to extract the mineral resources and leave the people to their fate.

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    “This must stop. It is no longer business as usual. The companies must stop the business of bribing some little minds to cause crises in the communities. This will not be accepted any longer.”

    He commended the Federal Government on its pipeline surveillance contract initiative towards reducing illicit petroleum activities in the Niger Delta. 

    He called on the surveillance contractors to work hand in hand with the association if they must achieve the desired results.

    The EOG boss took the opportunity to call on Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited  (PINL) to improve on their community relations approach, saying there were grey areas and issues reported to the association against it, which are yet to be resolved.

    Dogini hailed Tantitta Security Ltd on its performances and robust engagement of community-based  stakeholders aimed at achieving maximal results.

    Speakers at the event called for unity of purpose and selfless sacrifice by members to achieve the group’s goals. They advocated peaceful agitation.

  • Erosion: Bayelsa indigenes protest alleged NDDC’s, oil firms’ neglect

    Erosion: Bayelsa indigenes protest alleged NDDC’s, oil firms’ neglect

    • Urge Fed Govt to rescue community from going into extinction

    Hundreds of youths and women of Sangana community in Brass Local Government of Bayelsa State have protested against the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and seven oil companies operating in their area over alleged neglect, following coastal erosion ravaging them.

    The peaceful protest, which began from the beginning of the community to the community’s river, locked down the coastal community for hours.

    They said they were aggrieved that the relevant authorities failed to embark on a shore protection project to stop the erosion that had swallowed more than 50 per cent of old Sangana areas, claiming the incident had been officially reported to the Bayelsa State Government, NDDC and oil companies operating at Sangana Kingdom.

    They lamented that despite their repeated protests and engagements with stakeholders, old Sangana and its communities are gradually going into extinction, as the area’s public utilities such as primary schools, rural electrification, farmlands among others have been lost to the sea waves. 

    They alleged that property and goods worth millions of naira had been lost through the ravaging erosion that had kept thousands of community folks homeless.

    It was gathered that the quick intervention of some political leaders, chiefs and elders of Sangana Kingdom halted a breakdown of law and order that could have resulted in the shutdown of multi-million dollars crude oil production in the area. 

    It was also gathered that the protesters were provoked by the alleged deliberate neglect by the NDDC and the oil companies as the raging coastal erosion had allegedly swallowed up almost a kilometre of old Sangana, the ancestral base of Sangana people.

    The protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as: ‘We are peaceful people and do not envisage breakdown of law and order’, ‘Save Sangana people from the ravaging sea encroachment’, ‘We produce the black gold of the nation and deserve better’ and ‘Save our land, ancestral heritage, properties and economic valuables from total destruction.’

    They cried out that the old Sangana would go into extinction if nothing was done to protect the area from the ravaging sea scourge. 

    According to the protesters, the NDDC and the oil companies working in their area have allegedly neglected the community.

    Read Also: NDDC chair extols virtues of Ondo centenarian

    The Chairman, Sangana Community Development Committee, Mr. Preboye Reuben, said the NDDC and its host oil companies had allegedly refused to perform their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Sangana kingdom where it had been extracting oil for the past three decades.

    Reuben said: “It is over 25 years now since the NNPC and its multinational oil companies started crude oil production, and yet, the Nigerian state has yet to show that it honours and recognises where they have continued to extract crude oil for over three decades. Schools in the area where we, our fathers and grandfathers attended are all under water.

    “We are calling on the Managing Director of the NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, to save a sister community of Sangana in Bayelsa State from going into extinction. In 2009, the NDDC under the leadership of former Managing Director, Mr. Timi Alaibe, awarded shore protection in Sangana, but it was abandoned after 30 per cent completion in 2010.

    “Now, we have another Bayelsa man at the helm in NDDC in the person of Dr Samuel Ogbuku. Some letters in this regard have been written to the new NDDC management but all to no avail. We are seriously in distress and we urge the relevant authorities to rescue us from this precarious condition we are in currently.”

    He feared that with the current reality of coastal erosion in the area, Sangana Kingdom might be no more in the next 10 years. 

    He called on the Federal Government, NDDC and oil companies working in the area to as a matter of urgent public importance come to the aid of the community. 

    Also speaking, the traditional ruler of Moko-Ama, Sangana Kingdom, King Moses Theophilus, Kenibara VII of Sangana Clan, said they were tired of writing letters to official quarters of the government seeking intervention without any fruitful response.

  • NDDC chair extols virtues of Ondo centenarian

    NDDC chair extols virtues of Ondo centenarian

    The Chairman of the Governing Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr. Chiedu Ebie, has described the departed centenarian and patriarch of the Abegunde family, Chief Williams Abegunde Fagbegi, as a trail blazer in his community in Akure, Ondo State.

    Ebie, who spoke during the funeral service of Chief Abegunde Fagbegi at the Cathedral Church of Saint David, Ijomu in Akure, said his successes and achievements in fields should be celebrated.

    He conveyed his condolences on behalf of the board and management of the commission to the family of the deceased, including the NDDC Executive Director, Corporate Services, Ifedayo Abegunde.

    Ebie in a statement signed by the NDDC Director, Corporate Affairs, Pius Ughakpoteni, noted that Pa Abegunde Fagbegi’s transition would be felt not only by his family, but also by other Nigerians because of his contributions in aspects of life.

    He urged the family to be comforted that their patriarch lived a good and fulfilled life.

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    Ughakpoteni said: “His precepts will continue to inspire his family, friends and associates to aspire to accomplish greatness and establish a worthy legacy.”

    NDDC Managing Director Dr. Samuel Ogbuku said the centenarian lived a life worthy of emulation.

    “We are here to honour and celebrate him, as well as support his children, whose towering personalities are evidence of his enduring legacies,” he said.

    He said the patriarch was a successful farmer and a visionary, who placed importance on education for his children. 

    Ughakpoteni added: “He exemplified hard work, love and devotion, with a passion for education as a panacea for poverty.”

    He said with their son as one of the executive directors at NDDC, Ondo State would get its fair share from NDDC programmes and projects.

    Responding on behalf of the family, Ifedayo thanked NDDC for coming to comfort them, as they performed the funeral ceremony of their patriarch.

    According to him, Pa Abegunde Fagbegi touched many lives and achieved milestones in his life.

    He thanked friends and associates for joining the Abegunde family to bid farewell to Pa Abegunde Fagbegi.

  • NDDC presents award letters to foreign post graduate scholars 

    NDDC presents award letters to foreign post graduate scholars 

    Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has presented award letters to 189 successful candidates for its 2023/2024 Foreign Post-Graduate Scholarship Programme.

    Making the presentation during a pre-departure and award ceremony in Port Harcourt, Chairman of the NDDC Governing Board, Mr. Chiedu Ebie, hailed the successful candidates, saying their success was testament to their resilience as individuals. 

    He described the scholarship scheme as an important component of the commission’s human capital development programme, noting that education was the most powerful weapon for changing the fortunes of the Niger Delta region

    Ebie in a statement signed by the NDDC Director, Corporate Affairs, Pius Ughakpoteni, hailed the NDDC management for sustaining the scholarship programme and advised the beneficiaries to make the best use of the opportunity given to them.

    Addressing the scholarship beneficiaries, the NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, said the process of selecting them was transparent, adding that competition for the scholarship programme was intense, as the commission had to select from over 25,000 online applicants.

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    Ogbuku advised them to be good ambassadors of Nigeria in the foreign universities by applying themselves studiously to their academic programmes, so as to excel in their chosen fields of study.

    He assured the scholars that funds for their school fees and accommodation would not be delayed.

    He told them that previous beneficiaries of the scholarship programme set enviable standards for them to emulate.

    Ogbuku advised the scholarship beneficiaries to avoid distractions in order to excel in their studies, saying: “We are sending you out to go and study and come back to impact the Niger Delta region and the entire Nigerian system for good.

    He said the exercise was a proof that the Niger Delta was endowed with talented and intelligent youths, stating: “Any of our scholars that gets a distinction in the Master programme will be sponsored for a PhD degree.”

    The NDDC Director, Education, Health and Social Services, Dr George Uzonwanne, in his opening remarks, urged the beneficiaries to make the best use of the opportunity given to them to acquire technical expertise for the benefit of the people of the Niger Delta region.

    Uzonwanne stated that the successful ones were selected through a transparent electronic examination conducted at the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.

    He explained that 20,000 candidates applied online for the scholarship programme. Out of this number, he said, 5,000 wrote the Computer Based Test after which successful candidates were invited for the oral interview.

    Uzonwanne said the Foreign Post-Graduate Scholarship Scheme, which was started in 2010, was meant to equip Niger Delta youths with relevant training and skills.

    The NDDC director said he was optimistic that the process adopted in selecting beneficiaries of the foreign scholarship scheme would continue to produce first-class performers.

    He said the best performing candidate came from Ilaje in Ondo State.

    Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, the best performing scholarship student, Miss Omogbemi Olayemi, thanked the NDDC for making the selection process fair and transparent. 

    She pledged that the beneficiaries would do their best to be good ambassadors of the region.