…As flares of battle for NDDC MD position over
Flares flew across the Niger Delta rumbling the skies as underground battles raged for the position of managing director and chief executive officer (MC/CEO) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Now, the flares seem to flare out as the senate is said to have screened and returned Samuel Ogbuku, the sitting managing director.
The MD confirmed both the flares and the approval of his second term at a press conference at the NDDC headquarters in the week.
Flares:
The flares began as early as July 2024 when faceless groups began to hack at the credibility of Ogbuku. A group in Ogoni area in Rivers State accused the Ogbuku-run NDDC of scheming the Ogoni out. Those close to the MD however hinted that the people provoking Ogoni sentiment were deliberate because of the tendency of Ogoni issues to torpedo any CEO who had anything to do with the volatile place.
Next, another group complied what they termed ‘Sins of Ogbuku’ and spread it round some media houses. They accused the MD of all manner of offences including contract scams. Soon, this too ended before it started as most of the persons behind it failed to submit to newsmen any documents incriminating the present management of the commission.
The indications that some fifth columnists were plotting to get Ogbuku out of office continued to flare around the oil region.
The opportunity seemed to present itself when national protests were declared. Sources said groups worked hard to make the protest fierce in the Niger Delta to send signals to the presidency that Ogbuku could not be relied upon to watch the president’s back toward 2027.
The NDDC and other heavyweights in the region rallied round and mopped up youths of the region and convinced them that the protests were not in their interest. It seemed to work.
The final flare came from groups coming out to say the term that Ogbuku was occupying (Bayelsa) would expire in December 2024. They argued that Ogbuku should be replaced by person from any other state.
Ogbuku reacted to this at the press conference, saying he was aware of the plot. He however regretted that those pushing for his exit were not happy that members of the board were working together to deliver on the mandate of Tinubu for the Niger Delta people.
He said it was unfortunate that whereas his team was delivering on quality projects and programmes meant to uplift the standard of living of the people of the region, some people who felt shut out from accessing the commission’s funds were working behind the scene to return the commission to the dark days of graft and non-performance.
Describing the persons as selfish and enemies of the region, Ogbuku said he and members of the board had refused to be distracted but had chosen to concentrate on persons want me out because they benefit from the instability in the board.
Ogbuku said it was strange for some people to see that the board members have been working as a team and were doing everything to cause trouble in the commission so that the president could dissolve the board and appoint an interim team that they can control.
He said what the fifth columnists did not know was that having served out his first term, the president re-appointed him for another term of four years, noting that the region should be ready to see more people-oriented projects and programmes.
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For example, he said as soon as the 2024 budget of the commission was signed into law, the commission would raise a trillion naira to fund some of the projects abandoned by previous administrations. Some of the projects include the Okrika-Borokiri Link Road. The road, he said, would require a partnership of corporates like the NLNG, because of the cost implication.
He also spoke of the plans to fix other regional roads like the road from Sampou, Bayelsa State, connecting the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Governement of Rivers State up to Owerri, Imo State. He however said that as much as the commission would love to address all the abandoned major projects across the nine states, it would be guided by the availability of funds.
Ogbuku also said the Commission has built six multi-purpose emergency shelters in Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states for Internally Displacd Persons, IDPs, in the event of flood in the Niger Delta region.
He noted that the project was conceived as a response to the frequent flooding challenges faced by Niger Deltans, adding that facilities at the emergency shelter would include essential amenities such as a school, hospital, cafeteria, police post, and recreation center, which would provide comprehensive support to the communities in times of distress.
“We have six of this facility currently under construction in Otuokpoti and Odi, in Bayelsa State, while the ones in Delta State are being built in Patani and Ozorro and another two in Rivers State.”
He said the commission would intensify its efforts to light up communities across the nine states of the Niger Delta, with solar-powered street lights, as part of measures to fight criminality and maintain peace in the region.
He provided clarity on the issue of the tenure of the current Governing Board of the Commission, stating that the members were appointed for a four-year tenure.
Ogbuku said the insinuations in some quarters that his tenure as the Managing Director would end this year, was false and without any foundation.
He stated that subject to the provision of Section 4 of the NDDC Establishment Act, “A member of the board other than ex-efficio member, shall hold office for a term of four years at the first instance, and may be reappointed for a further term of four years and no more.”
The NDDC CEO was surprised that in spite of the efforts of the NDDC Board and management to deliver on quality projects and programmes, some people with selfish motives were working behind the scene to return the commission to the days of instability and non-performance.
He stated that nothing would distract the NDDC Board and Management from holding fast to its mantra of Transiting from Transactions to Transformation.
Ogbuku advised those scheming for a change of batons at NDDC to hold their horses as President Tinubu re-appointed him for another term of four years, noting that the region should be ready to see more people-oriented projects and programmes.
He pointed at the plan in the budget to raise N1 trillion from development and commercial banks for the completion of legacy projects spread across the Niger Delta region.
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Ogbuku explained that the legacy projects included regional roads, bridges, electricity projects, school buildings, hospitals, shore reclamation and protection, among others.
He also outlined recent initiatives of the Board, including the Niger Delta Stakeholders’ Summit, which was a culmination of other engagements with the youth groups and women. He assured that the resolutions of the summit would inform future actions, stating that the communique would be presented to President Tinubu.
Speaking on the NDDC Healthcare Programme, which caters to the needs of rural communities, Ogbuku said that the recent free medical outreach across the nine states of the region, was successful, leading to plans for holding the event biannually.
He said further that the Commission had acquired and distributed 13 ambulances to regional hospitals in response to a cholera outbreak and was working to secure more ambulances and cholera vaccines to prevent further incidents.
In the education sector, the NDDC boss highlighted the Foreign Post-Graduate Scholarship Programme of the Commission, noting that 2,323 students in the region had so far benefited from it. He added: “We have released the initial funds for beneficiaries of the 2024/2025 scholarship programme. In response to the rising costs of foreign education, we are considering offering local undergraduate scholarships.”
The NDDC boss assured that the era of not having data or evidence of projects and programmes was gone, adding the current Board and Management of the Commission had adopted strategies to showcase its activities.
Why flares seemed to die:
The NDDC for many years had practically stopped working well. The biggest problem was frequent change of CEOs and finance and project directors. This led to abandonment of projects, payment for wrong projects, insider trading, infiltration by national politicians, etc.
Next was extreme incidence of infighting, making the place very hot to plan and deliver projects.
The other was poor budgeting system whereby the National Assembly members would insert their own projects and allocate funds to them, making the budgets drafted by the Commission to be distorted. The budgeting system also allocated paltry amounts to projects, making them impossible to complete in few years. In the process, the projects got stalled.
When the forensic audit was carried out, the presidency said the NDDC had recorded over N6trillion allocations without showing any serious thing done with it. This created uproar and calls for arrests and prosecution, but to no avail.
The coming of Ogbuku and the new team seemed to end all of such, with many projects and programmes now in action. Many youths seemed to begin to get opportunities and scholarships. It thus became difficult to mobilise serious persons to cause another chaos or change in the NDDC.
