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Probe NDDC Operations, Spending, CSOs Tell Oil Producing Communities
Some Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have charged residents of oil producing states to exercise their rights by challenging the activities of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for it to deliver on its mandate in the affected communities.
The CSOs also resolved at a workshop in Akure, the Ondo State capital to form a movement that would henceforth work with the people in the mandate areas to ensure that projects executed by NDDC were monitored and evaluated.
These were part of the submissions of stakeholders at an Agenda Capacity Development Workshop held in Akure, at the weekend.
The theme of the workshop was, “Straightening CSOs and community agency capacity to engage NDDC”, and organised by the Social Development Integrated Centre, also known as Social Action, and MacArthur Foundation.
In his presentation, the Chairman, Civil Society Coalition in Ondo State, Mr Franklin Oloniju, said the level of corruption in the NDDC over the years had negatively affected it from alleviating the sufferings of the people of the oil producing states, hence the need for those affected to start asking questions.
Oloniju pointed out that people should ask questions about the activities of NDDC to ensure accountability and transparency, adding that checks and balances must be activated to demand for the needful from NDDC.
He said, “Over the years, we have found that the mandates of NDDC have not benefited the people and the commission itself has been plagued with a lot of issues around corruption, inefficiency, ineptitude activities, not being transparent and accountable. So, these are some of the problems that plagued the commission for a long time.
“Based on emerging trend and for the fact that they still continue to hold the destiny of millions of people in their hands in term of being unable to deliver on their mandates, it is important that people must start to hold the commission accountable for them to be able to deliver on their services.”
“That is why we are bringing stakeholders across the region to see we can form a movement that will put NDDC on its toes and ensure that it does what it is supposed to do appropriately and efficiently.
“A lot of money budgeted for intervention and construction are not mostly executed and if they are done,they are executed in as substandard. So how can we continue in that manner? There is a need for us to rejig the processes that go on within the NDDC for it to deliver on the services.
“One of the things we noticed as stakeholders is that a lot of people still don’t understand the mandate of NDDC and they don’t understand the fact that NDDC should be accountable to them, especially those at the mandate areas. They also do not have the understanding of how to engage NDDC for them to be accountable.
“We also found that people at mandate areas don’t show much interest because there is a lot of shielding in secrecy of NDDC activities and its budget.
“Our presentation is to open up their eyes that they have a role to play in ensuring that this commission delivers on its mandate.
“For them to also understand the importance of people with disabilities, women in the running of the NDDC, looking at gender as a component that has been neglected when allocations of posts, resources are carried out and programmes are planned.
“There is a lot of exclusion and marginalisation within the NDDC and people of the community must be ready to address such marginalisation.
“Until the people are conscientised to take up their responsibility and challenge those in charge, there won’t be any change in the way NDDC is being run. So people need to put more searchlights on the activities of NDDC because NDDC has become a milking cow for a lot of people. And those legislators, doing oversight are not really doing their jobs appropriately,” Oloniju submitted.
In his presentation, Senior Programme Officer, Social Action, Prince Edebo, said, “The essence of this workshop is to build the capacity of the community groups and leaders to engage the Niger Delta development commission which was set up for the development of communities for the extraction of oil produced from their region”.
Edebo opined, “So, there is a need to get back to the communities. However and unfortunately, this has not been the case as it is currently. So, this workshop is geared towards ensuring that communities are empowered to engage the commission for community development.
“Part of our plans is that communities, will after now, begin to engage NDDC because they would have been thought advocacy skills, communication skills and engagement skills.
“They would have been thought to carry out community needs assessment, how to look at small at small fiscal financial skills around needs assessment.
“They will also understand that it is not everything they need will be provided. They should also play their part by ensuring that it is what is needed that should be requested for,” Edebo said.
Participants were drawn from all the oil producing states in the country, where some of them described the workshop as an eye-opener.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
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RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.