The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NDDC

  • NDDC – One year after

    The current administration and board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, came into office in December 2013.  To celebrate this landmark event, the board and management of the commission rolled out the drums on Tuesday December 16, 2014. The venue was the prestigious five-star Port Harcourt Presidential Hotel. The event was indeed a grand affair. There was plenty to eat and drink. Amongst the artists that featured at the event were Mighty Duncan, Gordons and Terry G.

    The event, however, ran into a hitch towards the end as the over 2000 participants, mostly youths from the Niger Delta region, started a mild protest which later erupted into a full-blown uprising which necessitated the officials of the organisation being smuggled out of the venue. The grouse of the youths was clear: While NDDC officials have reason to celebrate, the commission has failed woefully to take good care of them(the youths). One of the youths angrily informed that the NDDC had abandoned its mandate of developing the nine beneficiary states, while its officials are busy enriching themselves. According to the irate youths, it was time for the officials to allow the goodies to go round so that people of the Niger Delta can begin to enjoy their commonwealth.  One was heard loudly complaining that since the exit of the first managing director, successive administrations had just been feeding fat on the agency with little or nothing to show for it. They also believe that all these administrations have allegedly taken steps to ensure that they are never probed by the EFFC, the Police or the ICPC. In other words, the hands of the security agencies have been tied such that NDDC officials are free to indulge in excesses with no one to call them to order. Indeed, the local people now believe that the NDDC has become a drain pipe instead of being a change agency, while accusing the federal government of complicity in the rape of the agency and short-changing of the people of the Niger Delta.

    The youths also claimed that their hopes were raised when the new administration came on board, even branding themselves as the new NDDC. But no sooner had they settled down than it became obvious that it would be business as usual. Instead of the promised development of communities were widely circulated stories linking some NDDC officials to the skyrocketing prices of properties in Port Harcourt, especially in GRA Phase 2. To buttress this claim, one of the aggrieved youths had informed that it was on account of this that landlords prefer giving accommodation to NDDC workers.

    A resident of Port Harcourt was also quoted as saying that they know NDDC staff by their flamboyant lifestyles and the security apparatus around them.

    It should be recalled that the NDDC was set up by the General Olusegun Obasanjo administration as an intervention agency to address the many years of neglect of the Niger Delta region comprising the nine states of Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers, Abia, Bayelsa, Imo, Edo, Delta and Ondo. Precisely, the agency was to address the issues of infrastructure such as roads, schools, hospitals etc.

    However, after 12 years many in the beneficiary states are of the opinion that there is not much to cheer. Indeed, an indigene of Delta State recently queried thus: Where are the schools built by them? Where are the roads? Where are the hospitals? He believes that if they had addressed most of the needs of the Niger Delta, the militancy could have been curtailed as there would be adequate jobs for the youths.

    One observes that even contracts are not awarded in line with due process as they are awarded to cronies of government and the agency. The jobs are either abandoned or poorly executed. And so no employment is generated in the process. In fact, the argument of the restive youths is that if NDDC contracts are properly awarded to reputable companies and professionally executed, restiveness in the Niger Delta would be over in no distant time as a lot of jobs would be created in the process. But this, unfortunately, is presently not the case.

    On further investigation, one notes that some roads have been built by NDDC. Some schools have been built and some renovated. There have also been half-hearted interventions in the health sector. They spend fortunes annually on medical training and medical outreaches using several agencies and hundreds of millions of naira are spent but with nothing to show for it. So far, no major hospitals have been built or equipped.  All annual budgets on medicals simply ‘walk” away, according to an informed source. Ditto for huge budgets on roads and other infrastructural projects.

    It is true that NDDC has done some good works but nothing compared to the huge sums of money which have accrued to it since its inception.  One wonders what will happen to it now that the oil revenues are dwindling so badly!!

    I strongly feel that since President Goodluck Jonathan is from the Niger Delta, he should either make NDDC to live up to its billing or scrap it and put the resources to the states rather than just allowing it to stay as a drain pipe. I also cannot understand why all successive board members and management staff of the NDDC have not been made to give account of their stewardship if the federal government is sincere in fighting corruption. In fact, the NDDC has so far failed to justify its existence.

    I understand that this is also the perception in Abuja, the seat of government. This is because the NDDC is one of those agencies whose impact has not really been felt in the beneficiary communities in spite of the huge funds yearly committed to their operations. In fact, I was shocked when one constant traveller to Port Harcourt claimed ignorance of the existence of the NDDC and what it stands for, saying he has never noticed its impact. This is why the federal government, including the National Assembly should endeavour to exercise due oversight functions in monitoring the activities of the NDDC and similar agencies of government to ensure that they discharge their responsibilities creditably. Those founding wanting or unable to live up to expectations should be discarded. By so doing, government would have demonstrated seriousness about its war on corruption and wastage of public funds.

     

    • Daukoru wrote from Yenagoa, Bayelsa State

  • Sitting duck

    Sitting duck

    •National Assembly should do the needful on bills the president has failed to assent to

    Zakari Mohammed, Chairman, House Committee on Information disclosed a perilously inhibitive trend in blissful legislative/executive relationship during a lecture he delivered at the forum organised by Correspondents’ Chapel of the Oyo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Ibadan. He said that ‘40 bills were awaiting President Goodluck Jonathan’s assent to become Act of the National Assembly;’ and cited “the political mood of the country’’ as the reason why the House of Representatives had refrained from deploying its constitutional powers on the issue.

    We have since noticed an evolving pattern of executive languor in the handling of, especially private bills, passed to the president for his assent to complete the process of such bills becoming Act of the National Assembly. For instance, in 2012, not less than 10 of the bills passed by the assembly were returned by President Goodluck Jonathan. In 2013, there were agitations in the National Assembly over the president’s refusal to give his assent to 28 private bills passed by the legislators. This had created a mounting obnoxious pattern where only bills that originated from the Presidency or from the Executive Council of the Federation (EXCOF) receive prompt presidential assent.

    President Jonathan should realise that most private bills have direct impact on the yearnings of the people at the grassroots, quite unlike executive bills which are mostly meant to tackle policy initiatives of the president and his team. Those private member bills are the bills sponsored by a senator or member of the House of Representatives, while executive bills are the ones sent from the Presidency to the National Assembly for consideration. What the presidency needs to appreciate is the fact that whenever such private bills are delayed, it is drawing back areas of necessary legal needs in the society and where denied outright, starting afresh the whole process of legislation could only be at high cost and time to the country.

    Nigeria cannot afford the luxury of this presidential torpor. Therefore, we demand to know if the cause of delay is the president’s inability to read and understand the bills. If this is the situation, what then are his aides doing if they cannot bail him out of his seeming phobia for private bills? The legislators should deploy constitutional provisions empowering them to override this presidential disdain for and impunity against bills, whether private or otherwise, that are duly passed by the National Assembly.

    The 1999 Constitution (as amended) in Section 58(4-5) provides, “Where a bill is presented to the President for assent, he shall within 30 days thereof signify that he assents or that he withholds assent”. It states further: “Where the President withholds his assent and the bill is again passed by each House by two-thirds majority, the bill shall become law and the assent of the President shall not be required.”

    Now that the president has failed to exercise the powers conferred on him by the constitution by not signing the bills passed by the legislature in order to give them the force of law, in flagrant violation of the stipulated 30 days and without any cogent reason, the National Assembly should do the needful if only to show that it is not subservient to the executive arm of government. The only time the legislature upturned presidential veto was in the case of the establishment of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s era. The relationship between the executive and the legislature, and even the judiciary, should be symbiotic and not a master-servant one that the president, through impunity, is attempting to foist on the legislative arm of government.

  • NDDC on success path, says MD

    The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Sir Bassey Dan-Abia, has assured stakeholders in the Niger Delta region that the interventionist agency is living up to its mandate and is on the path to the “Promised Land”.

    Dan-Abba spoke in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, at the public presentation of landmark achievements on youth development and empowerment initiatives of the current board and management of the NDDC.

    He said NDDC’s fourth governing board, which marked a year of its inauguration on December 16, had achieved tremendous successes in various spheres of development in the Niger Delta region.

    He said: “We have every reason to thank God for our contributions to the development process and we are, indeed, proud of what we have achieved in our first one year,” he said.

    The NDDC Chief Executive Office re-stated his appeal to youth leaders in the Niger Delta to continue to maintain peace to ensure sustainable development and the growth of democracy in the country, noting that the NDDC board had given the management full support to run relevant youth programmes to empower and engage the young ones in gainful activities.

  • Our roads have no maintenance contracts, says NDDC

    Member representing Cross River State on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Mr. Paul Adah, has said the commission does not make provisions for maintenance of roads it has executed.

    Adah said to that extent, the commission ensures that the qualities of road constructed under its supervision are made to be durable to stand the test of time.

    He said this at Utugwang in Obudu Local Government Area of Cross River State during the formal unveiling one of the road projects constructed by the commission in the south, central and northern senatorial districts.

    The road projects which span over 12 kilometres included the Utugwang-HRH Agba-Ukpirinyi road (1.25km), St Theresa-Kakum road (1.5km) Ukwel-Obudu-Bebuagba (1.5km), Ashikem-Ufono-Bebuastwan road (2km), Bebuabong-Kakum village square road (1.5km) and Babuagba-Katung road (1.5km).

    The commission also unveiled the Calabar Municipal solar power light project in State Housing Estate, Obubra solar power street light, Etung Comprehensive Health Centre in Okoroba village, Yala solar power street light, Oba village solar power water project of 25 gallon capacity, among others.

    According to Adah, the roads constructed by the commission can be used for over 20 years without any maintenance due to the thickness of the asphalt and quality of work done.

    He said, “NDDC has no provision for maintenance of road. That is why from the beginning of the road project we make sure that we do quality roads that can stand the test of time. For instance, these roads being commissioned are solid and it will take over 20 years before maintenance is carried out.”

    While noting that the costs of one kilometre of road construction vary, Adah disclosed that the average sum per kilometre in the projects already executed is around N150m.

    Adah urged community leaders and the youths against the burning of used tyres on roads as it could reduce the life span of the road.

    He also urged members of communities where projects are sited to monitor the quality of work being done by contractors in order to ensure that durable facilities were delivered.

    The State Director of NDDC, Mr. Frank Isaiah, said the commission would only continue to carry out more projects in communities if the ones already provided were maintained.

    He said the commission initiated 15 projects in Obudu, adding that nine has so far been completed for public use while others are still under construction.

    Isaiah added that NDDC would continue to expand the road network in the rural areas in order to ease movement and commerce.

    Also speaking, chairman of Obudu LGA, Mr. Emma Ugbe, promised that the facilities would be protected by the various communities where they are sited.

    Paramount Ruler of Obudu, His Royal Highness, Joseph Davis Agba, said the road constructions were fulfillment of government’s promise to open up the rural areas.

    He commended the state NDDC representative for his foresight in location of projects being carried out by the commission.

  • Oil-producing state: Anambra suffers setback

    Oil-producing state: Anambra suffers setback

    A bill, which seeks to amend the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Act by including Anambra as one of the states making up the NDDC, suffered a setback yesterday at the Senate.

    The bill, entitled: “Niger Delta Development Commission (Establishment, etc) Act CAP. N86 LFN 2011 (Amendment) Bill 2014”, was sponsored by the Chairman, Senate Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Senator Andy Uba (Anambra South).

    No sooner had Uba finished his lead debate on the bill than opposition was mounted by some of his colleagues.

    The senators said it would amount to injustice to include Anambra among the oil-producing states, adding that the dispute among the communities where the oil was said to have been discovered had not been settled.

    States laying claim to the oil are Kogi, Anambra and Enugu.

    The lawmakers argued that efforts by the National Boundary Commission to delineate the boundaries among the states were not successful.

    Senator Uba claimed that Anambra joined the league of oil-producing states, following the discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities at Aguleri.

    He further claimed that President Goodluck Jonathan on August 31, 2012 designated Anambra as an oil-producing state while inaugurating Orient Petroleum’s Anambra River Production facility at Aguleri-olu.

    The legislator said the integration of Anambra as part of the NDDC, like other oil-bearing states, was necessary to avoid conflicts.

    He added that the integration would lead to development that would make the state “socially-stable, ecologically-regenerative and politically-peaceful.”

    Senator Ahmed Lawan (Yobe North) opposed the proposed amendment to the NDDC Act, saying it would be unfair to recognise Anambra as an oil- producing state to the exclusion of Kogi and Enugu, which also claimed the crude deposit.

    The lawmaker representing Kogi East, Atai Aidoko-Ali, said Uba was merely jumping the gun, as the committee set up by the President, headed by Vice President Namadi Sambo, was yet to submit its report.

    He said it would be wrong to  award the oil to Anambra without boundary delineation by the appropriate agency.

    Following the opposition, Uba withdrew the bill to allow further legislative work.

  • Oil-producing state: Anambra suffers setback

    Oil-producing state: Anambra suffers setback

    A bill, which seeks to amend the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Act by including Anambra as one of the states making up the NDDC, suffered a setback yesterday at the Senate.

    The bill, entitled: “Niger Delta Development Commission (Establishment, etc) Act CAP. N86 LFN 2011 (Amendment) Bill 2014”, was sponsored by the Chairman, Senate Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Senator Andy Uba (Anambra South).

    No sooner had Uba finished his lead debate on the bill than opposition was mounted by some of his colleagues.

    The senators said it would amount to injustice to include Anambra among the oil-producing states, adding that the dispute among the communities where the oil was said to have been discovered had not been settled.

    States laying claim to the oil are Kogi, Anambra and Enugu.

    The lawmakers argued that efforts by the National Boundary Commission to delineate the boundaries among the states were not successful.

    Senator Uba claimed that Anambra joined the league of oil-producing states, following the discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities at Aguleri.

    He further claimed that President Goodluck Jonathan on August 31, 2012 designated Anambra as an oil-producing state while inaugurating Orient Petroleum’s Anambra River Production facility at Aguleri-olu.

    The legislator said the integration of Anambra as part of the NDDC, like other oil-bearing states, was necessary to avoid conflicts.

    He added that the integration would lead to development that would make the state “socially-stable, ecologically-regenerative and politically-peaceful.”

    Senator Ahmed Lawan (Yobe North) opposed the proposed amendment to the NDDC Act, saying it would be unfair to recognise Anambra as an oil- producing state to the exclusion of Kogi and Enugu, which also claimed the crude deposit.

    The lawmaker representing Kogi East, Atai Aidoko-Ali, said Uba was merely jumping the gun, as the committee set up by the President, headed by Vice President Namadi Sambo, was yet to submit its report.

    He said it would be wrong to  award the oil to Anambra without boundary delineation by the appropriate agency.

    Following the opposition, Uba withdrew the bill to allow further legislative work.

  • The NDDC long service award

    The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, (ICPC), Mr. Ekpo Nta, stood out among the 256 serving and retired staff of the Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC), who were honoured with long service awards on November 17, 2014.

    Although the honour was bestowed on him and others on the basis of their past contributions to the progress and development of NDDC, the event brought to the fore pertinent issues and lessons on attitude to work and conduct in service.

    The Chairman of NNDC, Sir Bassey Dan- Abia, in his speech, said the essence of the awards was “to build staff confidence for career progression, motivate staff and promote excellence through healthy competition for greater service delivery.”

    He said another lesson from the award was on the dignity that any diligent employee could earn on his duty post. In his response, Mr. Nta advised members of staff to aspire to qualify for long service award by staying clean and upright. The award given to Nta did not come as a fluke judging from the silent but far reaching innovations he is adopting to fight corruption in Nigeria.

    As the Chairman of ICPC, Nta has launched new initiatives, anchored on his desire to make the difference in the anti-corruption war in Nigeria, tapping from a bag of ideas which he brought to the table to make the anti-graft war more effective and result-oriented

    Before his appointment as the ICPC Chairman, Nigerians had witnessed an era in which corruption was usually tackled with a high measure of grandstanding by anti-graft officials who seemed to prefer a sensational process of trial of offenders and with banner newspaper headlines.

    Nigerians no doubt got tickled by the sensational approach to the anti-graft war, as they cheered endlessly each time the anti-graft commission made arrests of suspects and interrogated them. Often times, the approach proved less effective because not many of the cases so celebrated in the media fulfilled all expectations of having those arrested prosecuted.

    Ekpo Nta thus came into ICPC with the mind set of changing the game while launching a preventive approach to the war against corruption. He succeeded in putting in place, a bottom-up measure which sought to fight corruption right from the source, targeting schools, institutions, civil society groups and civil servants as soldiers to be mobilised in the war.

    So far, ICPC under Ekpo Nta has succeeded in creating a System Review Mechanism for checking corruption within government establishments, banking institutions, schools and other areas. ICPC had also assisted in reviewing and strengthening the process of admission within Nigeria’s tertiary institutions. In the process, it was able to clamp down on fake tertiary institutions which had long been exploiting unsuspecting Nigerian students with fake admissions.

    The anti-graft commission has also extended its reach towards the secondary and elementary schools in Nigeria. The essence was to build into the school curricula some precepts of anti-corruption for the students to imbibe, with expectations that they could be technically conscripted into the war against corruption, all the same.

    Nigeria can also recall that the ICPC has been blazing the trail in reducing cases of frequent visa scams at the instance of visa racketeers in the country. The commission has entered into a synergy with foreign embassies and security operatives in Nigeria to lower the menace of visa racketeering in the country. This led to many of the visa touts being arrested and handed to the law enforcement agencies for necessary action.

    Not long ago, the ICPC entered into a partnership with not less than 70 civil society organisations, all duly registered and trained to work under the umbrella of the National Anti-Corruption Coalition (NACC), an initiative of the ICPC.

    The award on Mr. Nta is, therefore, well deserved for a man who has done much for his country.

    – Innocent Clifford

    Port Harcourt.

  • The NDDC long service award

    The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, (ICPC), Mr. Ekpo Nta, stood out among the 256 serving and retired staff of the Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC), who were honoured with long service awards on November 17, 2014.

    Although the honour was bestowed on him and others on the basis of their past contributions to the progress and development of NDDC, the event brought to the fore pertinent issues and lessons on attitude to work and conduct in service.

    The Chairman of NNDC, Sir Bassey Dan- Abia, in his speech, said the essence of the awards was “to build staff confidence for career progression, motivate staff and promote excellence through healthy competition for greater service delivery.”

    He said another lesson from the award was on the dignity that any diligent employee could earn on his duty post. In his response, Mr. Nta advised members of staff to aspire to qualify for long service award by staying clean and upright. The award given to Nta did not come as a fluke judging from the silent but far reaching innovations he is adopting to fight corruption in Nigeria.

    As the Chairman of ICPC, Nta has launched new initiatives, anchored on his desire to make the difference in the anti-corruption war in Nigeria, tapping from a bag of ideas which he brought to the table to make the anti-graft war more effective and result-oriented

    Before his appointment as the ICPC Chairman, Nigerians had witnessed an era in which corruption was usually tackled with a high measure of grandstanding by anti-graft officials who seemed to prefer a sensational process of trial of offenders and with banner newspaper headlines.

    Nigerians no doubt got tickled by the sensational approach to the anti-graft war, as they cheered endlessly each time the anti-graft commission made arrests of suspects and interrogated them. Often times, the approach proved less effective because not many of the cases so celebrated in the media fulfilled all expectations of having those arrested prosecuted.

    Ekpo Nta thus came into ICPC with the mind set of changing the game while launching a preventive approach to the war against corruption. He succeeded in putting in place, a bottom-up measure which sought to fight corruption right from the source, targeting schools, institutions, civil society groups and civil servants as soldiers to be mobilised in the war.

    So far, ICPC under Ekpo Nta has succeeded in creating a System Review Mechanism for checking corruption within government establishments, banking institutions, schools and other areas. ICPC had also assisted in reviewing and strengthening the process of admission within Nigeria’s tertiary institutions. In the process, it was able to clamp down on fake tertiary institutions which had long been exploiting unsuspecting Nigerian students with fake admissions.

    The anti-graft commission has also extended its reach towards the secondary and elementary schools in Nigeria. The essence was to build into the school curricula some precepts of anti-corruption for the students to imbibe, with expectations that they could be technically conscripted into the war against corruption, all the same.

    Nigeria can also recall that the ICPC has been blazing the trail in reducing cases of frequent visa scams at the instance of visa racketeers in the country. The commission has entered into a synergy with foreign embassies and security operatives in Nigeria to lower the menace of visa racketeering in the country. This led to many of the visa touts being arrested and handed to the law enforcement agencies for necessary action.

    Not long ago, the ICPC entered into a partnership with not less than 70 civil society organisations, all duly registered and trained to work under the umbrella of the National Anti-Corruption Coalition (NACC), an initiative of the ICPC.

    The award on Mr. Nta is, therefore, well deserved for a man who has done much for his country.

    – Innocent Clifford

    Port Harcourt.

     

  • NDDC trains 100 on skills acquisition in Cross River

    The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) says it has has trained about 100 people on skill acquisition programmes, from the Central Senatorial district of Cross River State.

    Speaking at a workshop in Ikom Local Government Area, the State Director of the Commission, Sir Frank Isaiah expressed their readiness to uplift the living standard of the people through effective sensitisation and skill acquisition programmes that will make them self reliant.

    Isaiah who was represented by his deputy, Mr. Uzoma Akopuwanne said the diversification of th economy  is key because alternative means of revenue must be created for the sustainability of the economy.

    One of the facilitators of the workshop and a consultant on chemicals and food manufacturing, Mr. Isaac Omegba, emphasized the need for young people to embrace entrepreneurship.

    “There is wealth in this dirt you are looking at, the only thing is for you to have the technical capacity to harness it.”

  •  Tales from NDDC’s foreign scholars

     Tales from NDDC’s foreign scholars

    The Niger Delta Development Commission’s decision to build qualitative capacity through its yearly overseas post-graduate scholarship programme for indigenes of the region is one of the best things to happen to the oil-bearing areas. This is even more so because, after all, the human resource is more important than physical infrastructure.” That was the opinion of Mr. Lenin Francis, one of the 210 beneficiaries of the 2014 Post-Graduate Foreign Scholarship programme sponsored by the NDDC.

    Francis, who is from Bayelsa State and has enrolled for a Masters’ degree in petroleum engineering in the University of Salford, England, sees the programme as a capacity builder that will equip the youths to join in developing the Niger Delta. “I pray that the NDDC will continue with this laudable programme which has helped many youths in the region. The commission should also extend the scholarship to other students at the undergraduate level as well, in order to increase the number of beneficiaries.”

    He said the foreign scholarship was a boost not just for the beneficiaries but for the entire Niger Delta, because it would give the youths the opportunity to develop themselves and acquire technical expertise for the benefit of the people of the region.

    Mr. Stevyn Akosubo, another beneficiary who is heading to Coventry University in the United Kingdom, said the NDDC had given them an opportunity to widen their horizon and open their eyes to international best practices. “It is going to enhance the knowledge I have acquired here in Nigeria. It is a great opportunity for me to meet and interact with other students from different parts of the world. We owe our country and the Niger Delta, in particular, a duty to succeed,” he said.

    He further said that the scholarship scheme, which was given to 210 graduates in this batch from the nine Niger Delta states, needs to be increased.  ”It is clearly insufficient for the teeming youths of the region. Currently, the scholarship scheme is enjoyed by less than 15 per cent of qualified applicants, with some states getting only 10 slots. Surely, the NDDC can improve on this number,” he said.

    Giving her own perspective, Miss Amaka Uchendu, who is heading to the University of Essex in the UK, said that the youths often find it difficult to start their lives after their first degrees. “With this scholarship programme, it will be easier for us to go for the opportunities which we may not otherwise have been able to pursue on account of not having money. So, the NDDC has helped us to kick start our lives and we say a big thank you to the commission for giving us the opportunity to move forward and make our lives better.”

    The young graduates who are all set to jet out of the country for their post-graduate studies were all gathered at the Landmark Hotel, Port Harcourt to collect their scholarship award letters. The successful graduates from the 9 states in the Niger Delta were also given pre-departure briefings and put through a formal orientation.

    In his address to the NDDC scholars, the Managing Director of the commission, Sir Bassey Dan-Abia, charged 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.

    The NDDC Managing Director, who was represented by Barr. Sunday Obiofiong, his Special Adviser on Administration and Human Resources, assured the scholars that funds for their school fees and accommodation would not be delayed for any reason. He told them that previous beneficiaries of the scholarship programme set enviable standards for them to emulate. “Those before you did not disappoint us and we trust that you too will make us proud by your conduct and academic achievements,” he said.

    He said that the commission would continue to sponsor Niger Delta students to universities across the globe, and in return expect worthy response and commitment as an appreciation of the fact that the monies expended on them belonged to the people.

    The NDDC Director for Education, Health and Social Services, Dr. Solomon Ita, explained that the Foreign Post- Graduate Scholarship Scheme, which was started 4 years ago, was meant to equip Niger Delta youths with relevant training and skills for effective participation in the local content programme of the Federal Government.

    He said that since the inception of the scheme, the NDDC had trained 811 graduates at post-graduate level, noting that the commission had consistently sponsored 200 students yearly to foreign universities to acquire Master’s and Doctorate degrees in science disciplines. This year, he said, the number was increased to 210. He explained that emphasis was placed on science disciplines because of a noticeable deficiency in this area in the oil industry, which made it difficult to employ young graduates from the region in that critical sector. “You know we have a lot of gaps in our oil and gas sector, and that is what we desire in the Niger Delta region and Nigeria at large”.

    According to him, there was need to position young graduates from the region to compete globally in various professional fields, noting that before now, the oil and gas industry had discriminated against the fresh graduates whom they dismissed as not possessing requisite qualifications. ”We also need to encourage our youths to show interest in engineering for the sake of our projects. We need qualified engineers that can manage our projects just as in agriculture, environmental science and other science related courses,” the director said.

    Dr. Ita stressed that the foreign scholarship scheme was designed to expose the graduates to other developed environment outside the country. “It is our belief that the skills they acquire will add value to the development of the Niger Delta. So far, we have been proved right as those that benefited from the programme in the previous years have justified the need for the advanced training programme,” he said.

    He recalled the outstanding performance of one of the beneficiaries who studied in the United Kingdom in 2012. The star NDDC scholar of that year, Miss Francisca Chiedu, was elected as President of the United Kingdom University Student Union. That feat, he said, demonstrated that Nigerian youths could lead innovative changes within and outside the country. “Her success was indeed a victory for the NDDC. It is a testimony of the capability of the new generation of Nigerian to effect the change they seek and champion worthy causes they desire.”

    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. “it will guarantee the Niger Delta region and Nigeria at large, the likes of Francisca Chiedu, the Information Engineering and Network Management student in the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, who brought glory to NDDC, the region and nation.”

    Miss Chiedu, a University of Benin Computer Science graduate, showed appreciation for what the NDDC did for her. She wrote back to the commission to say that “truly life presents us with different opportunities. For me, every moment in our life offered a door, all I had to do was choose, I chose to dream, I chose to think, I choose to move, I chose to act and I chose to win.”

    Other potential winners have been lining up to be raised by the NDDC. It was not surprising, therefore, that 4, 000 graduates applied for this year’s post-graduate foreign scholarship programme. The successful ones were selected through a transparent electronic examination conducted at the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt. Mr. Asawo Ibituro, a consultant for the electronic test, said that e- exams promote transparency. “There is no room for anybody to change your grade since your picture and details are in the system, after writing the examination your score is reflected immediately”.

    The interview process for this year’s foreign postgraduate scholarship was concluded in April and the students were supposed to have reported at their universities in September. However, there were some delays which were attributed to the budgetary process of the Federal Government.

    One of the candidates who participated in the final interview, Mr. Peter Keshi, said: “Following the transparent and swift manner in which the tests and interview process was conducted, we expected quite a lot. This year’s qualifying exams for the scholarship programme were rounded up on the 5th of April, we were invited for interviews shortly in that same month and the interview process was equally done on the 24th of April. One would have expected that all successful candidates would by this time be in their various universities across the world.”

    Keshi didn’t have to wait for too long as the NDDC had finalised all arrangements to facilitate the movement of the graduates to their various universities for their post-graduate studies. The beneficiaries who attended the orientation/pre-departure briefing were visibly anxious to get moving. As they were being briefed by Mr. Umanaette Udoh, an NDDC consultant, the UK-bound graduates were impatient, listening to how to get around London. One of them asked: “Who wants to learn how to use the sub-way? Some of us have been living in London for many years now.”