In its bid to make the oil-rich Niger Delta a prosperous region in Nigeria, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has so far completed over 7000 projects valued at N1.663trillion since its inception.
The Commission has also conceived other important projects including the Niger Delta Regional Power project and the 704-kilometre-long East-West Coastal Road envisaged to run from Udukpani in Cross River State, going through all the Niger Delta States and terminating at Epe in Lagos State.
Managing Director/CEO of the Commission, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, who made these known at the one-day Policy Dialogue with Development Partners in Abuja on Thursday, noted that the NDDC may not have achieved its mandate 100% but its efforts had so far contributed to making the Niger Delta one of the most peaceful regions in the country.
He therefore beckoned on development partners and donor agencies to join hands with the NDDC to make the region prosperous.
“We are here to appeal to you to consider the Niger Delta as your own. For agencies, we say, support us. For the development partners, we say join us to complete ongoing major projects. NDDC alone cannot develop the Niger Delta. We need more funding. We need support,” Dr Ogbuku said.
He decried the negative public perception of the NDDC, saying, “the NDDC is not a failed attempt as has been wrongly perceived in some quarters.”
Earlier in his welcome remarks, the Executive Director (Projects), Mr. Charles Ogunmola, explained that the one-day Policy Dialogue, organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, became necessary because “we’ve just been in office for only six months, but the scale of infrastructural deficiency, degradation and human development gap in the Niger Delta is enormous (and) we realize that we cannot do this alone. So, we decided to look at other ways and means to address the deficiencies.”
“On coming on board, we resolved that we must make a difference and this is the next in the series of meetings we will have with partners, to help us drive our agenda for the Niger Delta,” said Ogunmola, who enjoined the development partners and donor agencies you to “listen, let us reason together as you figure out how you want to partner with us in the great task ahead.”
In a presentation entitled “A sea of opportunities in the Niger Delta Region,” the Director/Chairman, PPP Committee, Engr Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua, hinted that the proposed Niger Delta Regional Power project would have 15 power stations streamlined to power all communities in the entire region, while the East-West coastal road with over 160 bridges was necessary because on completion, it would link the Niger Delta people who are predominantly farmers and fishermen.
Among other objectives, the policy dialogue aims to comprehensively map donor interventions and compile data on projects in the Niger Delta that complement the mandate of the NDDC and, to establish a coordination framework by identifying gaps and ensuring alignment.
It also aims at ensuring accountability, stakeholder participation, and adequate tracking of results and; defining strategies of donor support that align the goals to NDDC objectives and community priorities to ensure sustainability and inclusivity. the deficiencies. This is the next in the series of meetings we will have with partners, to help us drive our agenda for the Niger Delta.
Highlights of the Policy Dialogue, which was declared open by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, included goodwill messages from the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), European Union, British High Commission and the Embassy of the United States.
Others were the International Solar Association, Mac-Arthur Foundation, Convention of Business Integrity, BRACED Commission, Representative of Oil Producers Trader Section (OPTS) of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry and, African Initiative for Governance.