Their regional development commissions

By UGO ONUOHA THE first take is to dismiss the six regional development commissions birthed by Nigeria’s president, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress [APC] political party, as at best, a waste and a drain pipe, and at worst as partisan political set ups and money laundering channels ahead of the 2027 elections. They might as well be all the things at the same time. There might actually be seven development agencies since there’s no publicly available evidence that the Niger Delta Development Commission [NDDC] established about 20 years ago by the administration of Gen.[rtd] Olusegun Obasanjo has been wound up. In other words, the NDDC could be operating alongside the South South Development Commission [SSDC]. Since there’s no budgetary provision yet for the SSDC, it would be safe to assume that the SSDC and the NDDC are one and the same. So NNDC may hence forward operate under the name of SSDC to align with similar commissions in the other five geopolitical zones. Early last month [that’s May], the president was reported to have forwarded a letter to his senate requesting it to screen and confirm nominees for the boards and managements of the South West Development Commission [SWDC], North Central Development Commission [NCDC], and the SSDC. The request was to complete the establishment processes for all the commissions across the country. In broad terms the regional commissions are being established to accelerate infrastructural development, stimulate economic activities, and improve social welfare in their respective geopolitical zones. Each commission is expected to operate with legislative oversight from the national assembly [NASS]. This NASS is not good at anything it has done thus far in the past two years of its existence. What this means is that the regional commissions have failed in the area of oversight. Instead of making operatives of the commissions to deliver on their mandates, the NASS members will focus on how much can be extorted from the agencies. The history of the extortionist proclivity of our senators and representatives is in the public domain. And legendary. There will be no need for receipts. The sitting senate president was a key dramatis personae in a televised public hearing on the sordid activities of the NDDC. He was then the supervising minister of the agency. NDDC is the precursor to the current plethora of development commissions.  Before NDDC there was a similar interventionist agency which name we cannot readily recall. It was set up to play a similar role like NDDC’s. Obasanjo created the NDDC on June 5, 2000, 25 years ago this month. It was established to develop the oil-rich Niger Delta region comprising about nine states. Its mandate includes addressing environmental issues in the region, tackling poverty and lack of social services. It has as its core mandates infrastructure development, human capital formation, economic empowerment, and battling ecological and environmental degradation caused in part by crude oil exploitation. The jury is out on whether the commission has substantially delivered on its mandate. It should be admitted, however, that the NDDC has positively impacted some of the communities it was created to serve. But the truth remains that the NDDC is better known for its notoriety- corruption, fraud, abandoned projects, contract inflation, abuse of power by elements in its leadership cadre, sexual harassment, accusations and counter accusations  between its leadership and members of the NASS at public hearings, among others. In 25 years there’s no evidence that the NDDC has helped to significantly transform any of the states under its coverage. The poverty/misery index in NDDC states is no better than that of any of the other states outside the purview of the agency. That should question its raison d’etre. Instead the federal government has opted to replicate and reinforce failure by creating five more agencies in the mold of the failed NDDC. This government must have other motivations for the path it has chosen. The total budget allocation in 2025 to five of the six development commissions [NCDC is yet to be provisioned for] is approximately N2.49 trillion with the NDDC getting the Lion’s share of N776.5 billion for it to focus on environmental and social economic challenges in the Delta region; NWDC, N585.9 billion to target security, infrastructure, and economic development; SWDC, N498.4 billion for infrastructure upgrades and economic empowerment programmes; SEDC, N341.3 billion to rebuild critical infrastructure and foster resilience; and NEDC N291 billion to rebuild communities devasted by insurgency and promote economic recovery. The mandate of the upcoming NCDC will not be significantly different from the ones that have been constituted. There’s nothing in the charge assigned to these commissions that is not the responsibility of local and state governments. The charge that the state governors are corrupt, emperors and not accountable will not suffice. The creators and operators of these commissions are not, and will not be, less corrupt and dictatorial. What the federal government has done is to create entities to counter the powers of the governors, agencies to launder money for personal benefits and slush funds for political campaigns, a bridgehead for foot soldiers for electoral heists, among other sinister purposes. The boards and the managements of the commissions are populated with APC partisans and apparatchiks instead of technocrats. There’s no suggestion here that there are no technocrats in the ranks of the APC. No. But in this instance, the primary loyalty of the appointees is to the president and their political party, not to the regions, certainly not to the majority of suffering Nigerians. If the motivation is to impact people at other levels of government, the country would have been better served with a rejig of the revenue allocation formular in favour of states and local governments. We agree that there would be strong and cogent arguments against this thinking given the financial recklessness in the other tiers of government. But these arguments can only be valid and sustained if financial recklessness and impunity do not obtain at the centre. We dare say

NDDC cautions unsuspecting applicants against fake scholarships

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has warned the public regarding the activities of fraudsters offering non-existent postgraduate scholarships to unsuspecting victims. Mrs Seledi Thompson-Wakama, Director of Corporate Affairs at the NDDC, issued the warning in a statement released in Port Harcourt on Sunday. She disclosed that the scammers had been soliciting money from members of the public under the pretext of securing scholarship placements. “The attention of the NDDC has been drawn to fraudulent emails and messages sent to applicants of the commission’s Postgraduate Foreign Scholarship Programme,” she said. Thompson-Wakama revealed that the fraudulent emails, purportedly sent from nddcregistry@gmail.com and claiming to be from the NDDC’s ‘Board Registry,’ invite recipients to a fictitious document verification and authentication exercise. According to her, the purported exercise is scheduled to take place from May 19 to May 21 at Bishop Oluwole Street, Victoria Island, Lagos. “Members of the public are hereby advised that the NDDC has no affiliation with this fraudulent selection process,” she stressed. She further clarified that all official communication concerning the commission’s scholarship programme are conducted exclusively through the official NDDC portal: www.scholarship.nddc.gov.ng. “Applicants are strongly advised to disregard any unsolicited messages requesting money, invitation, sensitive information, or offering scholarship placements outside of the official NDDC procedures,” she added. Thompson-Wakama urged anyone who receives such fraudulent emails to report them immediately to the appropriate law enforcement authorities for prompt investigation and action. She encouraged Nigerians interested in the NDDC’s programmes to utilise only the official NDDC communication channels. “We also advise former beneficiaries of the commission’s programmes and prospective applicants to verify all information through the NDDC’s official website official: www.nddc.gov.ng,” she concluded. 

Tinubu rejigs NDDC Board nominees, drops Akinjo, Okang; nominates Atikase, Duke

In a recent development, President Bola Tinubu has authorized changes to the nominees for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) board. Mr. Ajuri Ngelale, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, made this announcement in a statement issued in Abuja at the weekend. The alterations involve the nomination of a new representative for Ondo State, as Mr. Victor Akinjo steps aside to make way for Hon. Otito Atikase. Additionally, Mr. Asi Okang, the previous nominee for Cross River State, has been replaced by Hon. Orok Duke. Furthermore, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, the former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NDDC, has been reappointed for a second term. However, Dr. Ogbuku will continue to serve in an acting capacity until his reappointment is confirmed by the Senate. These changes reflect President Tinubu’s commitment to ensuring effective representation and leadership within the NDDC board.

Tinubu appoints new NDDC Board, Management

In a significant move aimed at revitalizing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has given his approval for the appointment of a fresh Board and Management team. In a statement by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity) on Tuesday, the newly constituted team will steer the NDDC towards a new phase of effective governance, aligned with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda. The appointed members of the Board and Management team are as follows: 1. Mr. Chiedu Ebie – Chairman – Delta 2. Dr. Samuel Ogbuku – Managing Director / CEO – Bayelsa 3. Mr. Boma Iyaye – Executive Director (Finance and Admin) – Rivers 4. Mr. Victor Antai – Executive Director (Projects) – Akwa-Ibom 5. Ifedayo Abegunde – Executive Director (Corporate Services) – Ondo 6. Sen. Dimaro Denyanbofa – State Representative – Bayelsa 7. Mr. Abasi Ndikan Nkono – State Representative – Akwa Ibom 8. Rt. Hon. Monday Igbuya – State Representative – Delta  9. Chief Tony Okocha – State Representative – Rivers 10. Hon Patrick Aisowieren – State Representative – Edo 11. Mr. Kyrian Uchegbu – State Representative – Imo 12. Victor Kolade Akinjo – State Representative – Ondo 13. Chief Dimgba Eruba – State Representative – Abia 14. Mr. Asu Oku Okang – State Representative – Cross River 15. Hon. Nick Wende – Zonal Representative – North Central 16. Hon. Namdas Abdulrazak – Zonal Representative – North East 17. Sen. Dr. Ibrahim Abdullahi Gobir – Zonal Representative – North West According to the statement, “the President’s intention is to foster a renewed era of successful administration within the NDDC, as part of his vision for the region. “These appointments, effective immediately, are seen as a crucial step in advancing development and progress in the Niger Delta region.”