Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has been tasked to ensure the promotion of peaceful engagements in communities in the region, which ensure sustainable community development and actualisation of its mandate as a Commission.
The Executive Director of Impact for Change and Development (IMPACT), Dr. Naomi Akpan-Ita, made the call in her keynote speech at the strategic capacity building training on conflict management and peace building approach for NDDC’s personnel, organised in Port Harcourt by the Commission.
Speaking on the theme: “Fostering Peaceful Engagement for Sustainable Development”, Dr. Akpan-Ita noted that frequent hostilities and violent conflicts in the Niger Delta communities have been a major impediment to implementation and sustainability of NDDC’s projects in the region.
She stressed the need to critically examine ways in which staff of the commission in their individual and corporate capacity can intervene in the promotion of peace in the communities, saying that “To achieve this, such staff need to have a good understanding of conflict management and acquire peacebuilding skills for needed interventions”.
To achieve a sustained peace that will enhance development in the region, Akpan-Ita said “NDDC needs to build capacity of its staff generally and Department of Dispute and Conflict Resolution (DCR) staff in particular in conflict management and peacebuilding.
“Understanding Conflict Sensitivity and Do-no-harm principles for project conceptualization and management; acquisition of conflict analysis skills; skills for effective and strategic communication in conflict; negotiation as well as mediation skills, are necessary for carrying out their responsibilities effectively.
“Acquisition and application of these skills would result in peaceful and meaningful engagement of stakeholders with regards to developmental projects in the Niger Delta”.
In his remarks, the Managing Director of NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku said the training was important for the staff because it is going to equip them on peace building skills, saying that it will help the commission in engagement with the communities in terms of conflict issues due to the projects it would be having in the area.
Represented by Patrick Ekade, Director, Human Resources and Administration, NDDC, Ogbuku said the issues of conflicts affected the commission adversely in the past, which he said had stalled some of their projects, resulting in moving the project to different locations because the necessary skills for that engagement were not available then.
Speaking on distrust among the people leading to the level of the conflict in communities, Ogbuku said “I am very optimistic that the outcome of this programme will resolve the issues of conflicts in various communities of the region. The knowledge gained here will greatly help our staff in bringing about trust with the communities”.
On his part, the Director, Conflict and Dispute Resolution Department, Ayewumi Goddy, noted that the training is going to resolve a lot of issues, citing the conflict in Okuama Community in Delay State.
Ayewumi said: “This training is going to solve a lot of issues in the region, because the MD of NDDC, Samuel Ogbuku, is a man of vision. When they went for the economic summit in Akwa Ibom, there is one thing he said that the NDDC is transiting from transaction to transformation.
“What that means is that we are going to be doing things in a more transparent way. This programme is the idea of the MD where NDDC personnel are trained as managers of conflict. Conflict should not arise before we move, but once we observe anything that we lead to conflict we move.
Like the issue in Delta State, the MD of NDDC is working underground with the military to ensure peace in Okuama and in the entire region. To ensure that oil production is at the optimum output level. Staff are going to be managers of conflict”, he added.
