*Eno seeks improved collaboration between commission, states
Okon Bassey in Uyo
The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, has said that the commission, as path of its rebirth and rewind policy, is “transiting from transaction to transformation” in the process of developing the Niger Delta region.
Speaking during a two-day Board and Management Retreat at the Four Point by Sheraton, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, Ogbuku stated that the commission was strengthening its processes and improving on its corporate governance system.
Ogbuku said the NDDC was committed to actualising a thriving Niger Delta through the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led federal government.
He stressed: “We are not just building roads and bridges. We are stitching together a vibrant tapestry of development, from healthcare and education to skills development and job creation.”
The managing director said one of the issues that needed to be addressed was the financial framework for effective service delivery. He explained: “At present, we operate under the Treasury Single Account (TSA) framework.
“We recognise the importance of transparency and accountability, principles enshrined in the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy. The impact of TSA on NDDC operations, like other agencies, includes improved financial management, increased oversight, budgetary discipline, and enhanced cash management. Centralising revenue through TSA enhances transparency, facilitates government monitoring, enforces budgetary discipline, and streamlines cash management.
“However, a one-size-fits-all approach poses challenges to our diverse operational landscape. Although it is good for transparency, accountability and efficient pooling of public resources, the TSA policy has weighty limitations for an interventionist agency like the NDDC,” the Director, Corporate Affairs, NDDC, Pius Ughakpoteni, was quoted in a statement to have said.
Ogbuku noted that the NDDC was able to complete many legacy projects before the TSA regime came into effect.
He stated: “Many landmark projects were brought to life before the TSA, utilising Advance Payment Guarantees to expedite delivery and ensure timely execution. While we embrace the TSA’s transparency goals, its centralised control has undoubtedly created hurdles, particularly in maintaining project pace. The limited construction window further compounds these challenges. To truly deliver on the Renewed Hope Agenda, we need to remove funding impediments.”
The NDDC boss advocated the removal of the commission from operating under the TSA framework due to its unique characteristics and the potential benefits of increased autonomy in financial management.
He said further: “Such removal will enhance Regional Development Needs; as the NDDC is tasked with addressing specific and urgent development needs in the Niger Delta region. Timely and flexible financial decision-making is crucial to respond effectively to dynamic regional challenges.”
Also speaking, the former Managing Director of the NDDC, Mr. Timi Alaibe, said sustainable development represented the pathway to the future.
He warned: “Sustainable development in the Niger Delta environment is something that should not be compromised because of the damage to our ecosystem, environment and sociopolitical survival and sustainability.”
He emphasised the need to have a plan to serve the purpose of the Niger Delta people, as well as the need for a Renewed Framework so that no one was left behind. In this way, he called for an urgent review of the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan.
In her goodwill message, the Chairman, House Committee on NDDC, Hon. Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu observed that the theme of the retreat aligned with the drive to rewrite the narrative of the people of the Niger Delta region.
Hon. Ibori-Suenu, who was represented by the deputy Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Jafaru Gambo Leko, expressed confidence that the Niger Delta stakeholders could collectively achieve the goals of the people.
The House Committee Chairman commended president Tinubu for assembling capable hands to run the NDDC and charge the Board members to see their appointment as a call to service to the people of the Niger Delta and the nation at large.
She added: “Every decision, policy endorsed and projects you undertake, should be guided by commitment and be rest assured the National Assembly will support you in the discharge of your mandate.”
Meanwhile, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has called for collaboration between the NDDC and state governments in the region.
Eno made the call when he received in audience a delegation of the NDDC Board and Management team led by the Board Chairman, Mr. Chiedu Ebie, visiting the state for the retreat.
The governor expressed optimism that the new board would uphold its mandate and core responsibilities as an interventionist agency for the development of the Niger Delta region, urging the team not to subvert its mandate for political reasons.
He promised to collaborate with the commission for the delivery of dividends of democracy to the people of the state and tasked the management on involvement of the state government in its interventionist programmes based on needs assessment to avoid replication of projects.
“I say this because the opinion of a lot of us particularly, governors of the South-south region is that the mandate and core responsibility of NDDC as an interventionist agency appears to have been subverted to satisfy a purely political purpose and I don’t say this lightly. That is not what it should be.
“The NDDC is an interventionist agency that is supposed to be very apolitical, looking at the development of the Niger Delta states and of course, Nigeria as a whole. But over the years, I can say that it has not been truly so.
“I wish, hope and trust that this new leadership will move away from being political. Yes, we cannot take out politics in all we do, but we need to be able to balance it so that the people of the South-south can begin to feel very strongly the impact of the NDDC.
“I am happy about the theme of this retreat, ‘Renewed Hope: An Era of Vitality, Peace and Sustainable Development’, this theme aligns deeply with the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.
Eno noted that his administration has been all -inclusive having worked across party lines believing that it is a sure way to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people.
He expressed optimism that the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President and the inspiring theme of the retreat will foster collaboration between the commission and the state administration for attainment of the agency’s core mandate to usher in the era of vitality, peace and sustainable development in the state.
“I remain very optimistic that given this Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu and the theme of this retreat, this new vistas of collaboration and de-politicisation of the agency’s core mandate, the era of vitality, peace and sustainable development will finally be here,” he stressed.
Earlier, Ebie congratulated the governor for his victory at the Supreme Court and expressed the commitment of the board and management of the commission to work as a team with all state governments in the Niger Delta to deliver on its mandate of bringing the dividends of democracy to the people.
He assured of the board’s readiness to work closely with the Akwa Ibom State Government to ensure development of infrastructure and empowerment of the people of the region.
