The Niger Delta Development Commission has for a while now come under severe criticisms over alleged financial impropriety, inadequate functionality and derailing from its own mandate. Worried by this development, stakeholders lately held a workshop/retreat on How Best to reposition the interventionist bureau.
Papers presented by eminent personalities included, “Placing a culture of integrity, integrity and organisational citizenship behaviour at work and how to resolve the problem of political patronage culture”; “Effective budget presentation to the National Assembly”; “Driving Corporate Government for maximum productivity”; “Effective collaboration between the Executive and Legislature for smooth functioning of Government Organisations”, and”Planning for sustainable and appropriate NDDC against the background of the petroleum industrial Bill (PIB)”; and the repeal and re-enactment of this NDDC Acts,” among others.
NDDC was created in 2001 roughly 20 years now beneath the NDDC Act of 2000 for the development of its catchment states. It seems since NDDC came on board as an interventionist agency to solve the developmental problems of the region, the opposite had been the case since the folks rather continue to seek answers about the best way to produce the commission run its responsibilities as enshrined in the Act establishing it.
A capacity-building workshop together with critical stakeholders drawn from the National Assembly, the state governments of the area, the oil companies, the traditional rulers, civil society organisations, the youth and also NDDC management preceded the retreat appropriate.
In the soul-searching collecting, various speakers started their heads on the positive and negative aspects of the commission’s activities in the past 20 decades.
“Twenty years of the constitution of NDDC, I think our discussion should have been on the successes achieved, and how we could strengthen it achieve longer for the Niger Delta and our people.
“Sadly, we’re still interrogating the commission’s setback and lost opportunities,” he said; adding that in 65 decades of discovering oil, the area is still looking to have a better approach to usher in the sort of development that sustains the people’s livelihood and fulfils our shared dream of a better Niger Delta Region.
He explained, this moment, there ought to be a stronger dedication to reestablish cooperation among stakeholders, in fashioning a common roadmap to development noting that top managers of this commission would agree on the strategies needed to ensure collaboration and effective implementation of the commission’s mandate.
“In fashioning this roadmap, in creating the protocols for effective and efficient approaches for sustainable development, we have to be bold on several fronts, to handle factors that had continued to negate significant work of implementing development policies and strategies”.
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Akpabio identified a number of the downsides of this commission to include corruption, governance, absence of appropriate consultation and involvement with communities and country authorities, transparency and accountabilities in performance, organisational behaviour and execution issues, non-existence of observation and evaluation of projects and programmes recorded from the budget amongst other challenges.
“And if we must find answers to those venerable questions, we then must positively change the fortunes of our people. If we must facilitate a region that addresses our people’s longstanding, longing for a society that fulfils their expectations and provides for their needs, then we who are assembled here today must offer a strong, unvarnished response, one which will help activate the type of development we all seek and work for, “Akpabio declared.
The Minister of State, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Omotayo Alasoadura at a remark labelled “NDDC won’t walk alone” said the gathering manifests a collective resolve to turn things around for the long-suffering Niger Delta region, positing the retreat, was the second of 2 clear manifestations of an emerging new NDDC.
“These two events, coming back, hold enormous promise for the Niger Delta people and all that have stakes in the evolution of the region. These two events have the potential to boost the service delivery capabilities of the NDDC. These two events will go a long way in helping NDDC shed the undesirable toga and appellations that have been its unfortunate lot in the past.
“I am aware that many stakeholders of the NDDC have not been happy with its performance over the years.
In his opinion tagged”NDDC, born to cooperate” the interim manager of the NDDC, Mr. Efiong Okon Akwa, beckoned on stakeholders to come, work and reason together to create the common way forward for the benefit of these people.
“We are here today to work towards the creation of commonalities among stakeholders for quick, development of our beloved Niger Delta Region.”
He commended the NDDC interim administrator for denying the need for cooperation between the National Assembly and the commission saying, “In the past we had assisted the NDDC, to receive the oil and gas companies to fulfil their statutory obligations to the commission. We amended the law and now the NLNG is paying their dues to NDDC. We have to always work towards cooperation and discussion for the good of everyone.”
He gave attention to the interim administrator to its advancement, describing him as one of the greatest choices this government had made. “I am very proud of you along with the National Assembly is pleased with what you do. We’ll provide you all the support you need,” he guaranteed.
He added his voice to the telephone to review the Niger Delta Master Plan, including that the NDDC should also think of generating income to the Commission. “We need to harness all available funds to get NDDC jobs done”.
Tunji-Ojo remarked that one of the best things that had occurred on the NDDC was that the setting from the forensic audit, which he said would help to clean up the Niger Delta.
A resource person from the National Assembly, Mr Gideon Jock, said the budgeting process in Nigeria was a monumental task laden with challenges but noticed that with all hands on deck,” the procedure will, be more of a technocratic instead of the usual political process”.
Traditional rulers in the area applauded the commission, for developing the capacity of stakeholders and engaging them in the budgetary processes aimed at developing Nigeria’s oil-rich region.
The National President of the Traditional Rulers of Oil Mineral Producing Communities of Nigeria, TROMPCON, along with the predominant ruler of Ibeno, Owong Effiong Archianga, emphasized the need to carry stakeholders together in budget preparation and monitoring.
“Since in budgeting, financing is extremely crucial, I call with this august assembly to have a critical look on part 14, 2a of the NDDC Act of 2000 as amended,” he explained. The section, he said, stressed that the national government would contribute the equivalent of 15 per cent of their entire monthly statutory allocations on account of the member states of the commission from the federation account.
The TROMPCON President said the provision was ambiguous and should be reviewed to allow the national government to contribute directly to the NDDC.
Archianga posited that the NDDC project tracking committee should consist of traditional rulers because most of the jobs were performed in their respective domains. “In reality, they ought to be consulted when projects are to be implemented in their own areas,” he said.
The royal father said in future, NDDC budgets” should concentrate on youth employment instead of just empowerment, in order to create a better future for its teaming young graduates from the region”.
Also speaking at the event, the Chairman of the Abia State Traditional Rulers Council, Eze Joseph Nwabeke, harped on the need for NDDC to continually engage stakeholders at the local level to be able to receive their buy-in and be certain that they engaged in tracking the commission’s projects in their own areas.
In his comments, the National President of the Host Communities Organisation in Nigeria (HOSTCOM), Dr Benjamin Tamiararebi, praised the NDDC for organising the stakeholders’ engagement, stating that it was fundamental to have such discussions.
He said such meetings were long overdue; imagining, oil-producing communities penalizing special attention from interventionist agencies like NDDC, to guarantee the sustainable development of the long-neglected area, saying: “Our people deserve to be consulted in most development programmes designed for the oil-producing communities”.
In his paper titled”Establishing a culture of integrity, integrity and organisational citizenship behaviour in the workplace and how to solve the dilemma of political patronage”, Col Wilson Ijide (Rtd) of the Department of Psychology, University of Ibadan discovered that the inability of NDDC to ease rapid, even and sustainable development of the area to its desire end and state was related to the human factor element of organisational operation.
“Human factor comparable to the organizational culture of impunity is deemed responsible for the current state of affairs at NDDC, therefore takes a powerful culture that places integrity, ethics and organisational citizenship behaviour.”
About the much talked about the forensic audit of the NDDC, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Akpabio strongly disabused the minds of stakeholders which the forensic audit was a ploy to continue with NDDC interim administration.
He revealed that July finish, 2021 was set as a deadline for the decision of the forensic audit ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari; claiming the audit was part of their internal reform of NDDC, he explained already 16 areas auditors have been assembled to initiate physical affirmation of jobs across the Niger Delta area.
Akpabio explained the physical verification is a severe exercise since the results of the exercise may lead to the prosecution of the builders who left their contracts without completing them.
“It is the considered position of President Muhammadu Buhari that for us to have a properly constituted board to the NDDC, we must first have a look at what has occurred to the commission because of inception. There was nothing our detractors have not done to stop the forensic audit and that has led several individuals to be left wondering if the forensic audit has been aborted.
“The president is resolute that he cannot leave the Niger Delta and the NDDC the way he fulfilled it. As a demonstration of the commitment, he is financing the forensic audit in the budget of the president”, Akpabio said to the crowd.
On his part, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Dr. Babayo Ardo claimed the take-off of this physical verification phase of the audit marked a milestone in the attempt to reposition NDDC for effective service delivery.
He said:”The audit of this headquarters has been completed, we’re now beginning the next stage of the exercise, and we will go round all the nine states to inspect the over 12,000 projects which have been identified with the NDDC.”
Talking on the forensic audit, the interim manager of the NDDC,” Mr. Akwa stressed that the exercise proved to be a serious and deliberate action which made it necessary to the physical inspection of job sites from the mines of the Niger Delta.
According to him, where the over 12,000 projects are located, the committee had been faked to visit them as security staff had been set in place to escort the committee members and ensure their security.
For the direct auditor, Mr. Joshua Basiru, the forensic audit instalment in 2019 is a consequence of the alleged enormous gap mentioned between resources spent and the infrastructural, human and economic growth listed by the commission.
“It’s our collective obligation to make sure this forensic audit exercise is successfully implemented, in a bid to reposition the commission in terms of effectively delivering on its mandate, as well as improving transparency and accountability in NDDC.”
“We must not permit this project to be scuttled by those who have benefited in the past or those that are currently benefitting unjustly from the current loopholes in the commission’s policies and working procedures as well as the profligacy exhibited by the prior management teams to the detriment of the huge majority of the Niger Delta people, and so do not want to see change coming to NDDC.”
The workshop/retreat addressed important concerns facing the commission and came up with outstanding recommendations and key action points, whose implementation to improve efficiency in, and repositioning of NDDC. This presents a possible and far-reaching chance for a brand-new chapter in the delivery of the NDDC mandate to quickly enhance the quality of life of the people of the Niger Delta Region.
A communiqué issued by the end of the workshop/retreat tasked the commission to boost its communications plan and execution, as well as its interface with the National Assembly, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, state governors and other stakeholders, through routine statutory meetings, town hall meetings and other forms of communications, particularly regarding projects and programmes.
It was also resolved that the commission’s Yearly budget should be appraised holistically, to guarantee continuous fiscal transparency and responsibility;
“That the commission should produce a civilization of budget realism, by removing moribund items, ensuring clarity, harmonisation, stakeholder participation, effective monitoring and evaluation, and post-implementation audits;
“The commission ought to automate and upgrade all its operations and ensure advanced Implementing on the automation of its Job Monitoring & Supervision (PMS) Directorate.
“The mode of selection of Executive Management of the commission Ought to Be examined, with a view to giving greater focus on professionalism and competence, and less on political factors;
“That the roles of the Executive Directors of this commission ought to be properly spelt out in the Act, and that the requisite qualification for executive positions must also be clearly stated in the Act;
“The commission ought to be included in the listing of Statutory Protected Boards from the Constitution. This will reduce the high Board and Management employee turnover, as well as the regular policy changes, with their attendant costs and inefficiencies;
“That there should be a block on foreign scholarships, with greater emphasis on local scholarships, which have the potential of reaching a wider spectrum of debtors, in view of this COVID-19 pandemic as well as its travel restrictions;
“The commission should encourage tertiary institutions in the region to improve their capacities to impart the essential knowledge and competencies;
“That the commission must review its endeavours so as to streamline them, by ensuring effective financing and completion of critical projects, and terminating contracts that bear no significance to the Master Plan.
“That jobs managed by the commission in the past that have a direct positive impact on the poor of the region, such as free medical outreaches, should be revisited and reactivated;
“That while there ought to be an emphasis on undertaking new projects, due to budgetary constraints in regard to outstanding obligations and the continuing forensic audit, the commission, being the leading interventionist agency of the region, should continue to intervene to cut the infrastructural deficits in the region, and in different areas of urgent need, for example, was done at the height of their COVID-19 pandemic,” among other resolutions as contained in the communiqué.
