The current leadership of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)  headed by Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba has had its hands full from  inception, in its bid to remake the narrative that has hitherto plagued  the commission. This piece takes a look at critical steps taken in this  respect.
Since the special intervention aimed at enhancing the sustainable  development of the Niger Delta, a move which birthed the Niger Delta  Development Commission (NDDC) as it is being known today by the NDDC Act  of 2000, this laudable initiative, some say, has been fraught with all  manner of irregularities, a narrative currently being reworked by the  current management.
This has been responsible, in part, as to why the Chairman of the  Governing Board, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, suggested a change in  narrative, strategy and modus operandi as it were, if the NNDC must  realize the aims and objectives for which it was setup while contending  that the former ways of doing things have hampered the realization of  the agency’s objectives.
This injection of a new policy direction seems to cascade down to the  day to day running of the commission under the Managing Director/CEO,  Mr. Nsima Ekere whose responsibility it is to run the affairs of the  Commission day to day, seeing that the objectives of the interventionist  agency are in harmony with both the people in the benefiting communities  and the federal government’s overall plans for the region.
To kick start and bring the new policy drive to life, a meeting with the  executives of Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) was held which is  geared towards including them in the budgetary process of the Commission  in carrying out relevant projects initiated especially by the IOCs and  OPTS within the host communities where their major operations exist.
This move is premised on the fact that since the oil producers are part  of the major contributors to the NDDC budgetary allocations, allowing  them to have a say as to where these monies are spent for the host  communities contributing to the development of the region, seems logical  and fair.
At another level, the Inter Ministerial Meeting chaired by the Vice  President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, to review the 20 point agenda of the  Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resource with regards to the Niger Delta  and take a critical look at abandoned projects under the NDDC with a  view to doing something about it.
The meeting also reassessed the environmental management in the Niger  Delta under Federal Ministry of Environment and a review of the amnesty  programme and the 16 point demands of the Pan Niger Delta Forum with a  need to harmonize the agenda with that of Petroleum Ministry, State  Government’s blue print and the Amnesty office, while ensuring that it  is rolled up into one workable plan.
Shifting gears, NDDC also directed contractors responsible for abandoned  projects to return and recommence work immediately, setting up a 30 day  deadline with effect from 17th March 2017 by which contractors would be  prosecuted for failure to heed the Commission’s directives. This is a  clear manifestation of the ‘business unusual’ nature of the current  leadership.
More importantly, more awareness on the ongoing Niger Delta Clean Up  efforts which has since started is to be reinvigorated, for which  Federal Ministry of Environment is to facilitate and sustain.   In the final analysis, Senator Ndoma-Egba, understanding that it may not  be easy as the current move will need a total overhaul in the ways of  doing things had hitherto canvassed and advocated for increasing  community participation and sense of ownership in the minds of host  communities of NNDC projects as the way forward for the sustainability  and maintenance of NNDC projects, after completion and eventual  commissioning.
Written by Clara Braide, the Special Assistant on Communication to NDDC Chairman.
