NDDC holds retreat, poised to fix Niger Delta region

The Niger Delta Development Commission recently organized a three-day strategic capacity building workshop and retreat for its Stakeholders, Directors, Deputy Directors, and Assistant Directors from the 15^th to 17^th April 2021.

The meeting was held at Watbridge Hotel and Ibom Icon Hotel & Golf Resort, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. There they addressed major concerns facing the Commission and came up with salient recommendations and key action points, whose implementation would greatly improve efficiency in, and repositioning of, NDDC.

This meeting presented a potential and far-reaching opportunity for a brand new chapter in the delivery of the NDDC Mandate to rapidly improve the quality of life of the people of the Niger Delta Region.

NDDC believes that the best option to facilitating regional development is for all stakeholders to work together as partners.

The major discussions at the workshop, designed to chart a new path for the overall development of the Niger Delta Region, had the theme: “NDDC: Collaborating, Planning, and Re-Strategizing for a Better Niger Delta Region, were the need, emphasized by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, for fiscal transparency in budgeting,  the need for strong internal mechanisms to combat overbearing external influences in the Commission’s operations and processes; and the need for a stronger commitment to restoring collaboration among stakeholders, in fashioning a common road map for the development of the region.

The workshop/retreat also identified a number of challenges that plague fiscal transparency. These include inadequate stakeholders’ engagement, budget templates swaps after stakeholders’ engagement, organizational culture weaknesses, and an inadequate reward and sanctions system.

There was also identification on the need for the NDDC to focus on creating youth employment, rather than just giving out palliatives, by creating platforms for massive entrepreneurship development of youths in the Niger Region.

They deliberated intensively on the high cost of the Commission’s Foreign Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme and the lack of World Class Medical facilities in the Niger Delta Region, which has resulted in a high mortality rate in the region, as well as the high incidence of medical tourism abroad which causes huge capital flights. There was a call on the need to make necessary interventions.

The workshop/retreat also discussed the negative corporate image of the Commission and the need for re-branding by implementing operational best practices.

Among other key issues discussed include the need for the engagement and contributions of, and collaboration with, stakeholders in the conceptualization of projects and programmes, as well as in the budgetary processes, in order to create a sense of belonging and ownership; the need to encourage stakeholder collaboration to better meet the needs of the people; the need to review the NDDC Act for greater institutional and structural efficiency in the discharge of its mandate;  the need to reposition the Commission for greater effectiveness and better service delivery and others.

It was therefore resolved that:

1. That the Commission improve its communications strategy and implementation, as well as its interface with the National Assembly, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, State Governors and other stakeholders, through regular statutory meetings, town hall meetings and other forms of communications, particularly concerning projects and programmes;
2. That the Commission’s annual budget should be appraised wholistically, to ensure continuous fiscal transparency and accountability;

iii. That the Commission should create a culture of budget realism, by eliminating moribund items, ensuring clarity, harmonization, stakeholder participation, effective monitoring and evaluation, and post-implementation audits;

1. That the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan shall be reviewed and updated, with clear goals and roles for all stakeholders set out, as the under-girding framework and compass for future budget preparations;
2. That the Commission should automate and upgrade all its operations and ensure advanced leveraging on the automation of its Project Monitoring & Supervision (PMS) Directorate.
3. That other areas of operations should be progressively automated to enhance effectiveness, improve public dealings with the Commission, including remote access to status of payments, in order to promote transparency;

vii. That the Commission should be part of the ongoing review of the NDDC Act by the National Assembly, particularly during its public hearings;

viii. That the mode of selection of Executive Management of the Commission should be reviewed, with a view to giving greater emphasis to competence and professionalism, and less on political considerations;

1. That the roles of the Executive Directors of the Commission should be properly spelt out in the enabling Act, and that the requisite qualification for executive positions should also be clearly stated in the Act;
2. That the Commission should be included in the list of Statutory Protected Boards in the Constitution. This will reduce the high Board and Management turnover, as well as the frequent policy changes, with their attendant costs and inefficiencies;
3. That there should be a halt on foreign scholarships, with a greater focus on local scholarships, which have the potential of reaching a wider spectrum of beneficiaries, in view of the Covid-19 pandemic and its travel restrictions;

xii. That the Commission should support tertiary institutions in the region to improve their capacities to impart the necessary knowledge and competencies;

xiii. That the Commission should review its projects in order to streamline them, by ensuring effective funding and completion of critical projects, and terminating contracts that bear no relevance to the Master Plan.

It became thus, imperative to set out a new template for its operations, in order to reposition the Commission to be better equipped to discharge its mandate of facilitating the rapid, even, and sustainable development of the Niger Delta, into a region that is socially stable, politically peaceful, economically prosperous and ecologically regenerative.