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Tag: N’Delta

  • N’Delta monarch urges urgent works on deteriorated south-south roads

    N’Delta monarch urges urgent works on deteriorated south-south roads

    The Ovie of Idjerhe Kingdom, His Majesty Udurhie I, has implored the dederal government to urgently intervene in the worsening condition of federal highways in the Southsouth region.

    The monarch, while describing the roads as “death traps” stated that not only are lives threatened, the situation was crippling economic activities, and fueling insecurity in the region 

    Speaking at his palace in Jesse, Ethiope West council area of Delta State, the traditional ruler said the state of key federal roads had reached an alarming level, listing critical but severely deteriorated routes such as the Benin flyover, Benin-Sapele, Sapele-Warri, Warri-Ughelli, Ughelli-Patani, Patani-Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt-Eket, and Port Harcourt-Calabar roads.

    “We no longer have roads in Southsouth Nigeria. What we have now are not motorable roads, they are death traps,” Udurhie I declared.

    He particularly criticized the slow pace of work along the Benin-Warri route, citing the Ologbo section of the project.

    Read Also: Olu of Warri urges protection of N’Delta mangrove, ecosystem

    “Go to Ologbo, the contractors are just rigmaroling in one spot. For three years now, they’ve not moved. If they finish one side, they put up a barricade, and you expect all the trucks from Northern and Western Nigeria heading to the Southsouth to squeeze through? It’s unacceptable,” he lamented.

    Continuing he said: “You want to go to Calabar now? Prepare yourself for a two-day journey.

    “If you venture onto those roads, people trekking can meet you, dispossess you of your valuables, and trek back.”

    The royal father called on the Federal Government to take advantage of the short dry season in the Niger Delta to fix the worst portions, noting that many failed sections span only two to three kilometres.

    Expressing optimism in President Bola Tinubu’s leadership, the monarch stressed the urgency of deliberate action. 

    “I know that the government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu means well for this country. But in meaning well, we desire special attention in the Southsouth,” he said.

  • PINL’s contributions to oil theft war driving economic growth – N’Delta group

    PINL’s contributions to oil theft war driving economic growth – N’Delta group

    A group under the auspices of Niger Delta Volunteers (NDV) has attributed growth in Nigeria’s economy to the contributions of Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL) in the war against oil theft and pipelines vandalism.

    Convener of the NDV, Comrade Akpobome Francis, posited this at a press conference in Warri, Delta State, stating that the security company’s effort has become game-changer in the oil and gas industry.

    He commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for the increase in crude oil production.

    Akpobome said that the achievement marks the beginning of prosperity for the oil and gas sector in particular, and the country at large.

    Noting that the PINL had been operating in line with government regulations and international best practices, he stated that the firm had demonstrated prudent management of resources, maintaining stability in the oil and gas sector with minimal resources.

    “The company’s commitment to safety, security, and sustainability has created a benchmark for others to follow.

    “By prioritising the welfare of its workers and host communities, Pipeline Infrastructure Nigerian Limited has demonstrated that responsible business practices can coexist with profitability.

    Read Also: Olu of Warri urges protection of N’Delta mangrove, ecosystem

    “The company’s innovative approach to pipeline infrastructure development has been a game-changer for the industry.

    “By leveraging cutting-edge technology and best practices, Pipeline Infrastructure Nigerian Limited has significantly reduced the risk of pipeline vandalism and oil theft.

    “This, in turn, has increased the efficiency and reliability of Nigeria’s oil and gas supply chain. The company’s contributions to the sector have been instrumental in driving economic growth and development.

    “The company’s social investment programmes have had a positive impact on the lives of thousands of Nigerians, particularly in the areas of education, healthcare, and economic empowerment,” the statement added.

    The NDV further called on other companies and stakeholders to emulate PINL’s efforts ing ensuring a peaceful atmosphere for oil activities and supporting President Bola Tinubu’s leadership.

  • 10,000 youths for pipeline surveillance in N/Delta

    No fewer than 10,000 youths of oil and gas producing communities in the South south region will secure jobs for pipeline surveillance.

    Over 800 of them went through the first batch training yesterday in Rivers state.

    The National Chairman of Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSTCOM), who won the contract to train and supply personnel for the services, Dr. Mike Emuh, said the first trainees will serve as para-military and  provide tactical as well as intelligence surveillance.

    This, he said, will enable them stop all forms of menace associated with illegal oil bunkering and consequences in the environments and ecosystem

    Speaking at the opening ceremony of the training at the National Youth Service Corps, Orientation Camp in Nonwa Gbam, Tai Local Government Area of the state, Emuh said the training would last for two weeks.

    Men of the Joint Military Task force and tactical units of security agencies will handle the training, he added.

    He said the employment would end the hydra headed problems associated with pipeline vandalism in the region.

    According to him: “This programme is to provide employment for jobless youths. Mr President has graciously approved the training of 10,000 youths across Niger Delta region. The training sessions will be coming in batches.

    “In Rivers State we are starting with 800 youths drawn from the 23 Local Government Areas of the State.

    “Other training sessions will take place in Uyo and Umuahia. The trainees will be grilled in pipeline surveillance and monitoring from vandalisation and also protect the environment.”

    He lamented that those unfamiliar with the environments of oil communities have been in charge of pipeline surveillance in the past.

    Emuh commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the interest shown in the development of Niger Delta and assured the region is solidly behind him.

    He stated that the era of violence and vandalisation of oil and gas pipelines in the region is over.

  • N’Delta ministry to collaborate with ex-agitators, says minister

    Minister of Niger Delta ministry, Useni Ogoro, has said his ministry will collaborate with ex-agitators in the region to ensure a sustainable peace in the region during a summit organized by ex-agitators held at Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), conference center, Effurun, Delta state.

    Ogoro who chaired a security summit organized by ex-militant leaders under the auspices of Coalition of Niger Delta Agitators, said the National Youth Game programme approved by the council when implemented will provide employment and promote peace in the region.

  • N/Delta, Middle Belt activists kick over plot to re-arrest Kanu

    N/Delta, Middle Belt activists kick over plot to re-arrest Kanu

    Some activists in the Niger Delta and the Middle-Belt have cautioned the federal government against move to re-arrest the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

    Kanu is accused of violating his bail conditions.

    The leader of the Afra Descendants Movement (ADM), an Ijaw organisation, Apostle Jene Kalada, said any such action would only exacerbate the mounting ethnic tensions in the land.

    Kalada who spoke in a telephone interview said that the move to re-arrest Kanu was a step in the wrong direction   “since such move negates the spirit of unity the government claims it wants to achieve.”

    He also contended that arresting Kanu is sub-judicial because they have been in court with the federal government since 2008 on the right of Biafrans to self -determination.

    The leader of ADM said, “The federal government should be careful with issues concerning Kanu, they should be aware that if they re-arrest him, millions of IPOB members and Biafra agitators will not watch him put behind bars again.

    “Even animals demand freedom how much more human beings from the bondage that we have been subjected to in Nigeria, Biafrans have every right to seek self-rule as guaranteed by the United Nations’ charter.”

    In a similar vein, Dr. John Danfulani from Southern Kaduna who spoke on behalf of Middle Belt groups warned that any move to re-arrest Kanu could spell doom for the country.

    Danfulani said Kanu had so far conducted his activities peacefully and had done nothing to be labelled a threat to national security even when in fact obvious threats to national security are ignored and allowed to fester.

    He said, “Kanu has every right to seek self determination for Biafra, he has not been violent since he was granted bail by the court so I advise that his case must be carefully handled.”

    “Government should tread with caution because I don’t think millions of IPOB members will tolerate the issue of the re-arrest of Kanu the streets will be busy again and the security agents will be overstretched.”

    “I don’t see the security agents ready and capable of containing the fall out together with the Boko Haram insurgence in the North East. So the best thing to do is to avoid any action capable of causing anarchy in the land.”

    Danfulani, however, advised the federal government to open a channel of discussion directly with Kanu devoid of any third party with a view to reaching a compromise on the factors fuelling the agitation for Biafra.

    The southern Kaduna activist accused the federal government of double standard and hypocrisy by not arresting the Arewa youths that asked Igbo to pack out of the north.

  • Publish N/Delta ministry probe findings

    SIR: The Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, urges the federal government to publish the findings of the technical committee set up by the Ministry of the Niger Delta Affairs that revealed the misappropriation of public funds up to the tune of N700billion, and which has culminated in a probe of the MNDA.

    The Ministry of the Niger Delta Affairs must not be seen to be a judge in the case of malfeasance already discovered from the report it sent to the Federal Executive Council, FEC. Because it is the nature of probes in Nigeria not to be thorough, inclusive and conclusive, Nigerians, and indeed Niger Deltans should be interested in knowing who the contractors who have abandoned the projects are and how much they were awarded to carry out the said abandoned projects. We believe that this would strengthen considerations and activities around the bill on whistleblowing in Nigeria.

    We recommend that the probe panel be chaired by a retired Chief Justice who would bring the full weight of his integrity and acumen to bear on the conduct of the probe of such monumental heists of public funds.

    In addition, ANEEJ calls for the inclusion of key stakeholders and relevant activists in the Niger Delta in the probe panel to ensure that their involvement adds value and credibility to the exercise.

    Apart from the prosecution of the perpetrators of those unaccounted-for funds, we implore the FEC investigation/probe to make the tracing, tracking and recovery of the stolen as a cardinal thrust of the probe so that recovered funds be deployed in the completion of either ongoing or abandoned projects in the Niger Delta. Most CSOs and NGOs working in the Niger Delta on corruption issues have networks of investigations which the government can leverage on to track perpetrators.

    ANEEJ verily believes that if the federal government involves CSOs in the tracing, tracking and prosecution of individuals and organizations involved in the heists of funds for development in the Niger Delta, the narrative around abandoned projects in the Niger Delta would change.

     

    • Rev David Ugolor,

    ANEEJ, Benin City.

  • N/Delta: Group urges FG to declare emergency in environment

    STAKEHOLDERS in the Niger Delta have urged the Federal Government to declare state of emergency on the environment of the oil rich region.

    This call was made  in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital,  during the 2017 International Women’s Day for Peace and Disarmament tagged, ‘Sustainability Academy on Re-source Democracy/Conflict’ organised by the Centre for Conflict and Gender Studies, University of Port Harcourt and the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF).

    The stakeholders who graced the event stated that human lives and the environment are in danger of extinction if noting urgent was done.

    Speaking, the coordinator of HOMEF, Nnimmo Bassey, said, “The violence in the case of the environment misbehaviour is so serious that the Federal Government  should declare emergency on the environment of the Niger Delta.

    Bassey, who is an environmental activist, also expressed worries over delays in the commencement of the implementation of the United Nation’s Environmental Programme report on Ogoni and other impacted communities in Niger Delta.

    He said: “Women are the victims of all source of violence in our environment and in our nation. In the Niger Delta, every pollution affects our women primarily. It affects their reproductive health, source of food and water supply.”

    He disclosed that the HYPREP has endorsed the work plan for the commencement of the process and that the plan has also assented to it, but wondered what was causing the delay.

    “August is coming and that will be the 6th anniversary of the UNEP report definitely we shall have seen something more on the ground. The process is slow and painful something needs to be done to prove to us that something is really going on.

    “Something needs to be done that will proof to us that work is really going on. Personally I expected to see alternative water supply for communities that are condemned to depend on obviously and clearly polluted water.

    “Now the governing body of HYPREP has just endorsed the work plan and the board of trustee has also seen the work plan.”

    Bassey lauded the ongoing disarmament by government, but stated that women would be the appropriate channel through which the process would be achieved.

    He said, “The disarmament by the government is very laudable, but what women are doing in Rumuekpe community in Emohua Local Government Area by constituting women prayer group between 2005 and 2010 is what other people should learn from.

    “This is because women are in at the grassroots while the government is in their office and the women are the ones impacted. So women talk to the people of their community the message goes down quickly.”

    However, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Ndowa Lale called the inclusion of women in process of making policies that affect them and children.

    Prof. Lale said: “Government must make a conscious effort and put in place affirmative policies where women must be part of the policies in conflict resolution and management. Men cannot sit all by themselves and make decisions and policies that affect both women and children.

    Meanwhile, one of the quest speakers, Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo, former ambassador to Ethiopia, noted women have been an integral part of disarmament, adding that every form of violence affects women.

    Toyo said, “Today there are more arms in the country than we have ever seen in the past. You cannot be calling for peace and allowing people to carry arms, you need to put the two together and work towards the enablement of peace.

    “And I think women’s role in seeing their communities broken down, seeing their children die from violent crimes and so on points to the fact that they are the ones suffering from the conflict.”

  • N/Delta and Alaibe’s advocacy

    Is there a correlation between stability in the Niger Delta region and value appreciation of the national currency, the naira? This question has become necessary in view of the seeming coincidence of the peace that has reigned in the country’s most sensitive yet problematic region, economically speaking, in the last few months, and what appears to be a steady appreciation of the naira, during the same period.

    It must be, to all Nigerians, a heart-warming development that the national currency that was, up to about two months ago, maintaining a steady plunge, creating fears that it was headed for an exchange rate of N500 to the dollar, has recorded so much appreciation that, in a twinkle of an eye, we are today talking about an exchange rate in the region of relative appreciable value. There are indications that the appreciation will continue in the months to come.

    Without doubt, the relatively better rate at which naira is exchanging for the dollar today is a fallout of the stability that has returned to the Niger Delta, the country’s golden goose. Safely say there is a definite link/correlation between the two. One has brought about the other.

    Oil production and export have gone on without interruption from the activities of armed militants who appear to have woken up to the reality of the damage they were doing not just to the country but also to their immediate environment and their own economic prospects. The country is now selling oil, its main foreign exchange earner, more than it did for the better part of 2016. Higher oil proceeds means availability of foreign exchange to meet the requirements of Nigerians in such areas as personal travelling allowance, school fees, medical expenses, among others.

    Most importantly, for manufacturers who must buy foreign inputs for their products, access to dollar is no longer an uphill task. It wouldn’t be wishful thinking to assume that it’s a matter of time before the graph of prices of imported goods and their local counterparts with foreign inputs begins to point south. This would hopefully make life a little bit more bearable for Nigerians that have in the last one year groaned under the heavy burden of spiralling prices of goods and services.

    The challenge before the government now is how to ensure the economic progress that has been made so far, in terms of realizing the country’s full potential in oil production and export, is sustained. Ability to achieve this will depend on how the government addresses the Niger Delta question. Thankfully, the government has in the past few months shown a greater commitment to engaging stakeholders in the region in dialogues that would hopefully help to address the question.

    Timi Alaibe, arguably one of the few Nigerians with a good working knowledge of the Niger Delta, its problems and what is required to solve them, has canvassed, as one of the strategies for achieving the second pillar of the Niger Delta Development Master Plan which is on infrastructure and economic development, proper coordination of efforts by the different intervention agencies that have been set up to tackle issues pertaining to the development of the region.

    He advocates a sort of one-stop shop from where government’s initiatives in the region would be implemented, away from what applies currently, in which different agencies sometimes appear to work at cross purposes pursuing the same objective. This way, the issue of duplication of programmes and projects, which sometimes have ethno-political underpinnings, would be eliminated. It would also help the government in its effort to fight corruption and enthrone accountability and transparency in the execution of projects in the region.

    Alaibe’s knowledge of the problems of the Niger Delta stems from the fact that not only is he a ‘son of the soil’ and feels what others in the region feel, but also because he was on the foundation staff of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) – the intervention agency created by the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo administration to handle infrastructural and socio-economic development of the region– as executive director, finance and administration and, at various times, acting managing director and substantive managing director.

    He has been involved in the design and implementation of virtually all the developmental projects the commission has put in place since its establishment. His inside knowledge of the problems of the region and what is required to solve them placed him in good stead to author the Niger Delta Development Master Plan, the document that is designed to serve as the roadmap for the implementation of programmes, policies and initiatives that would address the Niger Delta question once and for all.

    The government must sustain and, if possible, step up the dialogue it has initiated with stakeholders in the region, which has proved to be more politically and socio-economically beneficial to everybody than use of force. Inputs should include finding ways to design a framework for implementing development projects with better coordination than what has obtained in the past 16 years, as Alaibe has suggested.

    The expected increase in agricultural yields from the various government interventions, which would not only guarantee self-sufficiency in food production but would also boost export, would open up an equally vibrant source of foreign exchange for the country. That way, the vagaries of the international oil market would have little or no bearing on the country’s foreign exchange needs.

    The current stability in the Niger Delta would not only be maintained, but would perhaps be elevated to a level whereby crises in the region would become an anathema even to the people of the region if the government maintains its current level of sincerity and commitment to involving the people in continuous dialogue aimed at finding lasting solutions to the problems of the region.

     

    • Adesida, a businessman, lives in Abuja.
  • ‘Nigerians’ll benefit a lot from N/Delta cleanup’

    ‘Nigerians’ll benefit a lot from N/Delta cleanup’

    Mr. Olabode Akindeji-Oladeji an engineer and soil restoration expert is the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, OilOff Africa Limited, a company proposing a technology-based oil cleanup recovery solution for Ogoni and other parts of the Niger Delta. In this interview with Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf he offers plausible explanation as to why the restoration of the oil-rich Niger Delta remains a matter of national concern. Excerpts:

    The federal government’s determination to clean-up the degraded Ogoniland and other parts of the Niger Delta  have been in the news for some time now, what do you think of the move?

    An absolutely good development- the level of environmental degradation in the Niger Delta and Ogoniland, especially, has gone on for way too long. For over 27 years, the people of Ogoni have suffered many years of environmental degradation as a result of oil exploration and production. So, the federal government’s determination to address the negative impacts of oil exploration activities in the region is very heartwarming indeed.

    Beyond rhetorics, do you think Ogoniland, especially the soil can be restored back to its original state? 

    Ogoniland can definitely be cleaned up completely. The appropriate technology must be engaged for the oil spill cleanup exercise. There are lots of technologies being peddled around, some would clean up small spills over a course of time–electro kinetic treatment, some would clean up a specific area over a relative time period – bioremediation, while some would clean up the area mechanically in record time with non-detect (ND)–mechanical separation and remediation. Even at that and to get the remediation up to the speed that is agitated for in the Niger Delta, the appropriate technology must be engaged in order to design and achieve the desired result for a total cleanup. Of course, with the appropriate technology, the soils in Ogoniland will be fully recovered and returned back to its original state, if not better and within an acceptable period of time– as it is possible to improve the soil content during the remediation exercise.

    Which of the notable technology is the best for the effective cleanup of the place that will not further damage the ecosystem with regards to the safety of the place and lives of the people? And is such a technology readily available here?

    The mechanical separation with remediation is the best approach for the Ogoniland oil spill cleanup. It will provide for a non-detect (ND) clean-up, in which the soil will contain non detection of hydrocarbon. There are, present in Nigeria, small indirect fired remediation plants that can undertake up to 6 to 15tons/hr. The plants consume a high amount of energy to fire as the tonnes per hydrocarbon (TPH) of the soils are quite, high in most cases greater than 30TPH as noted in the UNEP report. This means that it will take a long time and high energy provisions to achieve the cleanup of Ogoniland using such plants. The appropriate plant for the project is a mechanical separation plant which would provide a dual advantage–reduce the hydrocarbon content of the soil by reducing the quantity of hydrocarbon in the soils to less than 6% and utilise a direct fired plant which will consume less energy and can undertake up to 100tons/hour. Such plant is not presently available in Nigeria, and we are in the process to bring a system in.

    What are some of government frameworks for the implementation of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) recommendations?

    The federal government has put together a framework for the implementation of the recommendation of the UNEP report. The Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP) has been created and recently the Programme Coordinator was appointed. As such, the government has achieved a milestone in the planning for the project implementation. Although the planning has been slower than expected, but milestones are gradually being achieved, and it is expected that contract for the antecedent works shall consequently be let out. It is expected that the consulting for the works shall start with the environmental risk quantitative/qualitative assessment which shall be undertaken shortly while the remediation action plan is being concluded and the decommissioning of the sites would consequently be engaged prior to the classified cleanup exercise being undertaken.

    Given the severe impact of the devastation from the oil spillage, UNEP report envisages that it would take 30 years to clean up the land. What can be done to speed up the process?

    With the implementation of an appropriate technology, we believe that the project work can be concluded between 10 to 15years if not quicker. It only means that the deployment of resources must be scaled up to achieve the desire of the community and the designed cleanup period.

    What informed your company’s bid for the Ogoniland cleanup exercise? 

    We hope to add value to shareholders, oil companies and the people of the affected communities by bringing the latest technology to fast-track the project. Our companies, along with its foreign partners, are bringing the much needed technology to clean the oil economically and equitably. It is expected that with our engagement, the people of Ogoniland can begin a journey towards economic sustainability, which is something we, at OilOff Africa Limited, are very passionate about. We are constantly thinking about how to make our business friendly to the ecosystem and make it viable at the same time. And we are happy that we are part of the journey that will not only change Ogoniland, but the lives of Ogoni people economically, as well as their health and sustenance. Within a short period of time, Ogoni people would have back their lives, utilising their land for agricultural purposes. Our technology will totally clean the oil off the soil and restore the soil back to its original position so that they can farm the land. We will clean the oil from the creeks and waters so that vegetation can grow back there.

    If the mandate of cleaning up the place is followed through, what would the successful cleanup spell for the place, the South-south region and Nigeria (health, marine/land, economically etc)?

    If properly harnessed, there abound several jobs and business opportunities associated with oil spill cleanup and recovery in the region – Ogoniland will not be an exemption. The expected cleanup of the degraded Ogoniland, which process was launched by the federal government last year is capable of creating more than 2,000 jobs within the first three months. It is expected that the soils in the area, following a segmented deployment, would witness the restoration of zones for immediate farming within a period of six months of the start-up of the restoration programme and consequently, the health of the people of the region.

    How is creating more than 2,000 jobs within three months possible?

    If awarded the contract for the area, we plan to break the affected communities into three to five processing zones, deploying human and technical equipment into the exercise. The interesting part of the exercise is that, because we engage a retinue of trucks and a retinue of equipment, activities of work in the local area is immediately stimulated. This is because where we have 200 trucks that are bringing materials from a particular area; there is a backward integration of people and resources that will provide food, shelters, diesel, water and a lot of different activities. So almost immediately, the economy of that particular area kicks off. That is different from the 120 to 150 people that are working within the plants to take care of the process in itself. The local indigenes would be trained and engaged in welding, as technicians are trained in geophysical testing, and equipment operators are trained in the working of the equipment; people generally in the area who have trucks to move material are able to do that; people that have other equipment like excavators, pay – loaders and other earthmoving equipment are able to lease their equipment and as such the whole location is engaged. We are able to employ, within a particular area, between 400 and 500 people at a particular point in time. Definitely, over that course of time, we are able to see over 2,000 people that are employed, doing different things.

  • N/Delta and fierce urgency of now

    In Charles Dickens seminal novel, A tale of two cities, which was first published in 1859, the author opens up by positing that, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times,…it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…”

    The apposite nature of this timeless quote comes into sharp focus when viewed against the prism of current happenings in the country. It is no longer news that we are in a recession, oil prices have plunged, agitation in the Niger-Delta region have resumed in frightening dimensions, with groups coming out of the woodworks to destroy critical national infrastructure  in the region. Conversely, we can bask in the warm assurance that Nigerians have been always been a very resolute and determined breed that have succeeded against all odds; that our huge youth demographic if positively channeled is a game changer; that many of the leading lights in various fields globally are Nigerians and the opportunities for growth in Nigeria seem abundant. As such, even though the horizon looks bleak at the moment, these times present us with a golden chance to re-invent our nation and let the world know that many good things can come out of Nigeria.

    Interestingly, harking back to Dickensian quote, the Niger-Delta region also foregrounds the binary oppositions which the saying projects. As a nation where oil accounts for close to 90% of exports and roughly 75% of the budgetary revenues, the region that produces oil is still very far from the Promise Land of development in spite of huge sums that have been committed to the area by way of amnesty and most importantly, the Niger Delta Development Commission, a vehicle created by the Obasanjo administration in 2002 with a mandate to accelerate the development of the Niger Delta area.

    The challenges of both the NDDC and the region have been well chronicled. Some of these include infighting among the leadership team as well as leaders in the region, misalignment between the agenda of past NDDC teams and the real developmental needs of the area, cronyism, opaque procurement processes and a myriad of other problems.

    It is not in doubt that the newly appointed Managing Director of the Commission, Nsima Ekere, a stellar technocrat and an astute politician is the right fit for the job. Against the backdrop of his experience as an enterprising estate surveyor and valuer, head of various developmental focused agencies in Akwa-Ibom State before his well earned elevation as the Deputy Governor of the state, President Muhammad Buhari must be commended for making the right call in this regard. Like it is often said, everything rises and falls on leadership, the choice of Ekere is indicative of the President’s resolve to fix the problems of the oil-rich Niger Delta in a sustainable manner and in accordance with the extant provisions of the law.

    However, in view of the NDDC’s dismal performance over the years, Nsima Ekere has literally got to hit the ground running with a view to bringing succor and relief to the impoverished citizens of the region. Like Dr Martin Luther King Jnr, bellowed at a divided America in his speech at the march on Washington on August 28, 1963, “America could no longer afford the luxury of administering itself “the tranquilizing drug of gradualism,” but, rather, recognize “the fierce urgency of now,” Ekere and his team must take urgent and concrete steps that demonstrate an acute awareness of the situation at hand, and move the NDDC and by extension, the Niger Delta region, out of the doldrums of neglect, abject poverty and rent-seeking mentality that has crippled it and transform the land into one which every citizen from Akwa Ibom, Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa, Ondo, Edo, Abia, Imo and Cross River states would be proud to call home.

    It is important for the new NNDC management to pay close attention to enthroning accountability in all their processes and shed the toga of being just another “contract-awarding” institution. This is more imperative in the light of the recent allegation by the Senate Committee on Public Account that previous managers of the NDDC might have been involved in shady malpractices. This is one clear way the NDDC can endear itself to the people, in a nation where probity and accountability are mere buzzwords; Ekere has a sparkling opportunity to further cement his legacy as a man of honour by ensuring that due diligence and accountability are not sacrificed on the altar of prebendalist and parochial allegiances.

    In this new era of change, where state resources and revenues have dwindled, the new team must also be innovative in their approach to developmental projects. The Nsima-led team must dig their heels in and draw from their entrepreneurial backgrounds to provide a balanced scorecard for intervention programmes. The new NDDC must function like well oiled machinery with every part working at full and optimized capacity, devoid of the frictions and schisms of the past.

    Like leadership guru, John Maxwell once shared, “a leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” A critical examination of Ekere’s resume shows that he is well positioned to usher in a new era of bliss and prosperity in the Niger Delta region. For us as Nigerians, even though, the times are indeed dire at the moment, there is always a bright light at the end of the tunnel.

     

    • Effiong is a developmental policy analyst and resides in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.