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Tag: Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)

  • Brambaifa: we’ll prioritise girl-child education’

    ACTING Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Prof. Nelson Brambaifa has promised that the commission will prioritise girl-child education to build her capacity and enhance her self-esteem so as to contribute positively to nation-building.

    Brambaifa spoke on Monday at NDDC’s Corporate Headquarters in Port Harcourt, when he received an award from the National Association of Nigeria Female Students (NANFS), who visited him.

    The Managing Director described education as the bedrock of any developing country, with women being strategic in the equation.

    He said: “NDDC has embarked on many infrastructural development projects and capacity building programmes in the Niger Delta. Many female students have benefited from our foreign post-graduate scholarships and other capacity building programmes over the years, because we believe in the saying that ‘educate a girl-child and you have educated a nation’.

    Read Also: ‘Poverty barrier to girl-child education’

    “NDDC will collaborate with any organisation that is ready to promote and safeguard the education of the girl-child to acquire skills and boost her self-confidence. We have your proposal, and the management will look at it critically, to see the area in which we can partner to protect the girl-child.”

    NANFS President Joan Obi pleaded with NDDC to support the organisation in its fight against discrimination of women in the society. She disclosed that NANFS had embarked on a sensitisation campaign tagged: “Say no to drug abuse and violence against women”.

    Obi hailed the management of NDDC for executing people-oriented projects.

    She said: “The advancement of education in the Niger Delta, through the ongoing scholarship programme, nation-building with transparency and integrity, as well as strong advocacy for peace and sustainable development in the Niger Delta region must be vigorously pursued.”

    Obi, who presented an award of “21st Century Icon of Meritorious Service and Role Model to the Younger Generation” to Brambaifa, said the award was given in view of his outstanding leadership qualities, transparency and laudable contributions to the development of the Niger Delta in particular and Nigeria in general.

  • Give NDDC MD’s slot to Ondo, group urges Buhari

    A group, the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to be courageous in applying the act of the interventionist agency, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), by granting Ondo State the slot of its next Managing Director in the interest of justice and fair play.

    A statement yesterday by its Secretary General, Blessing Akinlosotu, decried the purported report credited to a group, ‘Ondo Elders Forum’, that Yoruba had glossed over agitation on next NDDC’s leadership. According to NYCN, “It is often said that anyone that points at his/her father’s house with a left finger is definitely troubled.”

    It urged President Buhari to disregard the statement by the Yoruba Elders. The group said: “To set the record straight, Section 4 of the NDDC Act said the office of the chairman shall rotate amongst the member states of the commission in the following alphabetical order: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers, and shall continue in that order throughout the life of the commission.

    “Consequently, since the establishment of the NDDC, the chairman of the governing board has been appointed in accordance with the principle of rotation as outlined in the NDDC Act, while that of the Managing Director was captured in Section 12 (1) of the NDDC act.

    “There shall be for the Commission, a Managing Director, and two Executive Directors who shall be indigenes of oil producing areas starting with the member-state of the Commission with the highest production quantum of oil and shall rotate amongst member states in order of production.

    ”This unambiguous provision of the NDDC Act means that every member state shall produce the MD of the Commission in a rotational manner following a sequential order that uses the quantum of oil production starting with the state with the highest production at the time of the establishment of the commission.”

    The group called on the president to make the law effective as Ondo State is the next in line for the position of Managing Director of the Commision.

  • NDDC hailed for completing N24b coastal road in Bayelsa

    The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has been hailed for completing the N24 billion Ogbia-Nembe Coastal Road in Bayelsa State, which has opened up land access to many communities for the first time in history.

    The road, constructed in partnership with Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), covering 29 kilometres through swampy terrain with spurs to 14 other communities, is to be inaugurated shortly, according to the Acting Managing Director of the Federal Government’s interventionist agency, Prof. Nelson Braimbaifa.

    Speaking in an interview in Nembe over the weekend, according to NDDC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Charles Odili, the Opu Nembe Bassambiri Council of Chiefs, through its Secretary, Chief Afrebo Okpoma, stated that with the completion of the Ogbia-Nembe road, the communities in the area had been spared the dangers of travelling through the waterways.

    Okpoma said: “Before the road, we were travelling through our waterways, but since the road was completed, we now drive in with our vehicles.

    “When we were travelling through the waterways, there were always bad boys who were attacking the passengers and robbing them. There was this fear each time we were travelling that the bad boys might be there, but since the road was constructed, we no longer witness such ugly incidents.

    “Commercial activities have increased. Our Igbo brothers, who are not good swimmers, were not coming here to trade. When we were coming through the waterways, you would not see the Igbo traders coming to Nembe to trade, but since the road was completed, the Igbo traders are now coming in with their goods, during our market days.

    “Our people now commute between Nembe and Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital freely, up to late in the evening. If you leave Nembe by 6pm, before 7.30pm you are in Yenagoa and likewise one can travel from Yenagoa to Nembe at any time. Our secondary schools have been upgraded from grade C to B, because of the road link.”

    The secretary also stated that before this time, building materials were brought through the sea, which made the items very expensive.

    He said: “Today, we pay far less than what we were paying before the road. So, it has reduced the cost of building and increased the number of buildings in our communities. New buildings are springing up daily, because of the road.

    “What we can say to NDDC is that if you have a child that is doing well, you have to praise the child and encourage him to do more. The NDDC can help us to open our village roads, to help reduce the problem of unemployment for our youths.”

    Read Also: Youths, ex-militants clash over threats to NDDC

    A regular user of the road, Dr. Iti Orugbani, who is an indigene of Nembe-Bassambri, described the strategic road as fantastic.

    Orugbani said: “You cannot compare any project to this road. The days of frequent boat mishaps are over for us. We are truly enjoying the road.

    “We are very grateful to the NDDC for constructing the road. We applaud the commission, because for us, there is nothing you can compare with this road. In the past, Nembe people and others were involved in boat mishap, but these days, we hardly lose lives on the waterways, because most people now use the road. We no longer have to deal with the problem of encountering sea pirates.”

    Okpoma also commended NDDC and the executive management, while urging them to continue with the good work they are doing, advising that they should distance themselves from politics to avoid being distracted.

    He noted that with the completion of the Ogbia-Nembe road, it would be the expectation of the people that work would commence on the Nembe–Brass section of the project, stressing that the success story would be complete when the road gets to Brass, which hosts the the Nigerian Agip Oil Company’s oil export terminal.”

     

  • ‘No NDDC scholar has been deported’

    The Director of Corporate Affairs, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Charles Odili, has said no overseas scholar of the commission has been deported for whatever reason.

    According to him, overseas scholars whose stipends and fees were still outstanding would get them next week.

    Odili said: “We can confirm that all our scholars are in their schools of enrolment. None of them has been deported for whatever reason. We have particularly checked on Mr. Kevin Odungeri, who was rumoured to have been deported. He has confirmed that he is safe and in school. In his own words, he ‘was at no time deported out of the United Kingdom’.

    “The commission reassures stakeholders that as an interventionist agency focused on the development of the Niger Delta, it sees human capacity development as one of the fundamentals of its mandate. As a result, the commission will always ensure that beneficiaries of its scholarship programmes are supported to excel in their studies.

    Read Also: NDDC to inaugurate N24b coastal road in Bayelsa

    “The scholars, who fall under the 2018 foreign scholarship programme, were awarded funding to study in disciplines of critical development needs in various UK universities. The new management of the commission, which assumed office in late January this year, took an active interest in the welfare of the scholars and worked to meet their needs so they could focus on their academic pursuits.

    “In March this year, the Acting Managing Director, Prof. Nelson Braimbaifa, and the Acting Executive Director, Finance and Administration (EDFA), Dr. Chris Amadi, toured the United Kingdom for a first-hand appraisal of their needs, and met with the management of the universities and the scholars.

    “One of the issues that came up was the late remittance of fees and allowances, and the management promised to address the concerns immediately.”

  • NDDC to inaugurate N24b coastal road in Bayelsa

    The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is set to inaugurate the strategic N24 billion Ogbia-Nembe Road in the coastal part of Bayelsa State.

    The Acting Managing Director, Prof. Nelson Brambaifa, spoke at a special Niger Delta stakeholders’ interactive dinner in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    The Ogbia-Nembe road was carved out of the deep mangrove forest and built in partnership with the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC).

    The interactive dinner was attended by prominent traditional rulers and stakeholders, as well as the Acting Executive Director, Finance and Administration (EDFA) of NDDC, Dr. Chris Amadi, and others.

    Brambaifa said the Ogbia-Nembe road, covering about 29 kilometres, and with spurs to 14 other communities, would open up the area for renewed economic and agricultural growth. He assured the people that NDDC would continue to lay the foundation for a stronger partnership among stakeholders, to facilitate sustainable regional development that would impact positively on the people’s lives.

    The NDDC chief added that the commission was committed to developing the region, built on the foundation of due process, job creation, skill acquisition and social welfare, empowerment of the people and equitable distribution of projects and programmes.

    Read Also: NDDC: Group calls on Ijaws to support Brambaifa

    He said: “What we are working on is the immediate completion of the Polaku Bridge on East-West-Opokuma-Sabagriea Road, linking Yenagoa to Kaiama in Bayelsa State, as well as the Abbi-Emu-Unor Road and Ibusa internal roads in Delta State.

    “We must hope that all the years in which the Niger Delta has been victimised and neglected are being recognised and reversed. It means that slowly, but surely, the poverty, underdevelopment, inequity and regional disregard that held sway will give way to development, prosperity, stability and peace.

    “NDDC belongs to the people of the Niger Delta. We fail our people when we work alone, without collaborating with you all, at all levels.

    “We cannot afford to fail. What we hold in trust is the collective aspirations of our people, and we will continue to work with you, with our youths, women, traditional institutions and our democratic institutions to make our region one that fulfils our expectations and honours our dreams.”

    Chairman of the Traditional Rulers of Oil Mineral Producing Communities of Nigeria (TROMPCON) Obong Effiong Achianga assured NDDC of their support, noting that the commission needed counselling from its founding fathers.

    Achianga underlined the role played by the monarchs in the birth of the Partnership for Sustainable Development (PSD) forum, which he said encouraged stakeholders’ participation in developing the Niger Delta.

    The Amayanabo of Twon-Brass, King Alfred Diete-Spiff, who is the pioneer military governor of the old Rivers State, said NDDC had taken the bull by the horns by inviting stakeholders in the region to an interactive forum.

    He admonished the youths to be availed of relevant training to became assets and stay away from violence and criminal activities.

     

  • Brambaifa: NDDC’s funds will be judiciously applied

    The Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Prof. Nelson Brambaifa, has promised that the commission will continue to follow the proper public procurement procedures to ensure its funds are applied judiciously for development.

    He gave the assurance at the opening of a one-week workshop for NDDC’s executive management and directors at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Port Harcourt.

    Brambaifa reiterated that NDDC’s mandate included delivering services that would give full value for money, noting that it was necessary for the management to be prudent in its efforts to drive development in the Niger Delta.

    He said: “Our goal is clear; we want everyone to be conversant with the procurement process, because it is not something that should be left for only procurement officers. The experts have made it simple for us to understand the issues in procurement.

    “I have no doubt that someday, we will fully integrate the electronic data management into our procurement system. We will adopt the electronic platform to enhance the efficiency and transparency of our processes.”

    Brambaifa noted that it was important that the commission’s workers fully understood the procurement process to ensure that funds meant for development projects and programmes were judiciously utilised.

    The Director for Procurement, Theophilus Alagoa, said the training was organised to enlighten officers of the commission about their roles in the procurement process.

    Read Also: NDDC: Group calls on Ijaws to support Brambaifa

    Alagoa said: “Before now, procurement is seen as the responsibility of only those in the procurement unit. The fact is that procurement is for every officer in NDDC, and they have roles and responsibilities, as specified in the Procurement Act 2007.

    “We want NDDC workers to wake up to their responsibilities by arming them with knowledge.

    We noticed that a lot of people do not know their roles. In fact, every department in NDDC has the power to procure for itself. The procurement unit is only there to ensure compliance with the Public Procurement Act.”

    The Chief Executive Officer of Tabriz Procurement Solutions Limited, Emeka Ezeh, who facilitated the workshop, noted that training on the processes of public procurement was very crucial for development agencies like the NDDC, because of the enormous responsibilities its workers were saddled with.

    He emphasised the need for government agencies and departments to imbibe the culture of proper public procurement, noting that it was important that public procurement in the NDDC was done in the right way.

    Ezeh said: “We believe that when NDDC and other key Federal Government agencies adopt the culture of proper public procurement, it will ensure that there is value for money in service delivery.”

    He added that the workshop was necessary to remind NDDC directors of their responsibilities, and the need for them to always adhere to the guidelines set up by law, to ensure that public funds in their custody were judiciously expended in accordance with the laid down rules.

    “To deliver on its mandate, NDDC needs to procure according to the laws, because the use of public funds is regulated by laws,” he added.

  • Youths, ex-militants clash over threats to NDDC

    Youths of the Niger Delta and ex-militants have clashed over threats by the former agitators seeking removal of the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Prof. Nelson Brambaifa.

    The ex-militants, who have accused the NDDC boss of corruption and nepotism, protested on the streets of Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital, demanding for his sack.

    They specifically alleged that Brambaifa has diverted NDDC funds for private use.

    However, youths from the nine states of the region rose from an emergency meeting in Uyo yesterday to warn the ex-combatants against “threatening’ Brambaifa.

    The youths, under the aegis of the Consolidated Youths of Niger Delta (CYND), described the ex-militants’ action as “borne out of evil intention”. They explained that “the board led is too young to be dragged into unnecessary blackmail”.

    Read Also: Reps pass N346. 5bn NDDC 2019 Budget

    The coordinator, Comrade Frank Naday, who described the action as “politically-motivated”, advised them to follow due process in their quest for personal welfare, instead of overheating the polity.

    He said: “This is the first time we are having a NDDC Board that is led by a technocrat who has no political interest to use the NDDC’s platform as a spring board to attain such ambition.

    “We advise our brothers to give the board a chance to implement its policies and programmes in line with the core mandate of addressing the development challenges confronting the region.

    “With the prevalence of security issues facing the country, it is quite unthinkable for our brothers to want to add the Niger Delta to the list of regions currently facing security problems.”

    The Brambaifa–led NDDC board, according to the youths, has shown tremendous commitment towards fixing the problem of the Niger Delta. They added that these laudable gestures can only be implemented under a very peaceful and secured environment.

    The group praised the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government for “appointing a non-politician to oversee the commission’s activities”, noting that “the current era will witness a new dawn in the drive to reposition the region”.

  • NDDC: Group calls on Ijaws to support Brambaifa

    The National Leadership of Ijaw Interest Advocates (IIA) Izanzan Intellectual Camp has called on all Ijaws in the country to support Prof Nelson Brambaifa, the Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    The group, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Ambassador Arerebo Yerinmene Jnr, while reacting to an earlier publication by another group titled “ Ex-militants demand sack of NDDC boss” made against Prof Nelson Brambaifa, called on the leadership of the group to retract their statement.

    It said: “Prof. Braimbaifa should be supported by us all as he captains the NDDC as acting managing Director (MD). What we should clamour for is for President Buhari to confirm him as the substantive Managing Director.

    Read Also: Reps pass N346. 5bn NDDC 2019 Budget

    “It is a cogent and genuine fact that he is trying his best by engaging more youths in empowerment programs, lawfully approving funds for contractors and many more.”

    The group noted as people they are expected to rally around their people that are doing well in terms of development and youth empowerment programs especially the ones heading intervention agencies to do well to develop their places as well as empowering their people.

    “We want to reinstate it clearly that we have firmly resolved to always protect all sons and daughters of Ijaw Nation whenever their interest conflicts with those who do not mean well for us and have always frowned whenever positive plans for the Ijaw people are unveiled.

    “As advocates of development, justice and peace in the Niger Delta, we are well abreast with the numerous sacrifices that the socioeconomic and political rights agitators of the Niger Delta particularly the Ijaw people have made to ensure that the oil rich region is given the attention it deserves, ex-militants inclusive therefore we are once again calling of the ex-militants to mindful and not to be used by some opposing forces for their own self gains,” the statement added.

    While calling for the confirmation of Brambaifa as the substantive Managing Director of NDDC, the group said said they are watching Brambaifa keenly as he discharge his duties.

     

  • NDDC stresses peace for development of Niger Delta region

    The Cross River State Commissioner of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr Sylvester Nsa, has stressed the need for peace in the Niger Delta for the development of the region.

    Speaking during a stakeholders’ engagement forum organized by the NDDC in the state in Calabar, Nsa called on all stakeholders to work in unity for the purpose of lifting the region despite any differences.

    Nsa, who described peace as a veritable instrument for nation building, said conscious efforts are being made by the Commission in the state to ensure it is achieved.

    The forum had as its theme, “Peace as a panacea for the sustainable development in the Niger Delta region”

    He said the region has a great advantage in terms of manpower and mineral resources, but needs peace to prevail so that dreams can be translated to reality.

    “Elections are over. The Nigerian nation and its people should preach peace at all times. What we need now in this country is peace and not war. The Nigerian nation is urgently yearning for development and this can be achieved by Nigerians themselves,” he said.

    Read Also: Govt to train 1,500 Niger Delta youths

    Presenting a paper at the forum with the title “Effective communication as a veritable told for peace building in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria”, Dr Ndifon Ejoh, said with the seeming failure in the use of force, the only approach to achieve peace in the region is non-violent communication.

    According to him, the non-violent communication strategy offers core processes of empathy and honest self-expression, aimed at healing and resolving deep-seated conflict such as the Niger Delta conflict.

    Prof Roibito Ekpiken-Ekanem, who also presented a paper on the role of women and youths in peace building, said engendering peace building processes should ensure that women’s interests and needs are addressed and also acknowledging their role as peace builders.

    She said the absence of women in peace processes and the failure of peace agreements to promote gender equality can lead to the perpetuation of discrimination against women and their continued marginalization in the post-conflict rebuilding of society.

  • N’Delta Devt: NDDC urges stakeholders to shift from political colouration

    To ensure effective and sustainable developments across the Niger Delta region, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has called for a shift from “political coluration” of the organisation.

    Speaking at the 2019 NDDC stakeholders forum for Delta state in Effurun, Uvwie council area of the state, the state Co-ordinator, Dr. Ogaga Ifowodo, disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari has given directive to facilitate payment of arrears amounting to N1.8 trillion owed the commission by the federal government.

    According to him, this is part of the administration’s commitment to ensure lasting peace and development in the oil-rich region.

    He streesed that stakeholders seeing the commission as affiliated to political parties has led to disruption of several projects that should have benefited the people of the area.

    “The idea that the NDDC flourishes now and the glory belongs to APC is wrong. The people who belong to the party are a tiny minority of the populace. If you are in power and say the NDDC should be sabotaged, then our people will be sabotaged. Let us reexamine this political colouration,” Dr. Ifowodo said

    Read Also: NDDC director becomes ICAD fellow

    Highlighting some issues that have caused setbacks for the commission since inception in 2001, he explained that “avoidable competition” with state governments, the NDDC’s subjection to many masters among other reasons, have led it to stray from its core mandate.

    Earlier in his welcome address, Acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Prof Nelson Brambraiyefa, said there was need for all “to woo investors back” to Niger Delta.

    Noting that the theme of the programme ‘Peace as a panacea for sustainable development in the Niger Delta’ is apt considering the challenges facing the commission, he revealed that the “Governors’ Advisory Committee” will be reactivated to promote collaboration with governments.

    The meeting had three plenaries presented by Col. Wilson Ijide (Rtd), lecturer at the Department of Psychology, University of Ibadan, Dr. Philip Esavwede, Faculty of Law lecturer, Delta State University and Dr. Omonigho Otanocha, MD FUPRE Energy Solution Limited, Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun, respectively.

    Stakeholders at the forum include security personnel such as Air Commodore Augustine Vonumbagai, Commander 37I Nigeria Air force Detachment Warrior, Col. MHB Many, Commander Sector 1, Operation Delta Safe (represented).

    Also present were representatives of the Ovie of Uvwie, Olu of Warri among other traditional heads and community leaders and stakeholders.