Niger Delta

NDDC To Partner Stakeholders On ‘Implementable’ 2024 Budget

Published

3 years ago

August 23, 2023

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) says it is ready to partner with critical stakeholders of the region to fashion out an implementable budget for the commission in the 2024 budget.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the commission, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, said this in Uyo on Monday during a stakeholders’ engagement.
The Tide source reports that the theme for the two-day conference is “Partners for sustainable development forum – NDDC 2024 Budget conference”.
Ogbuku said the forum was designed to provide a veritable platform for achieving effective budgeting system, in line with the Federal Government’s ‘’Renewed Hope’’ project.
He said: “This conference is very vital. For one, it helps to revive the platform of the partners for sustainable development forum, which was created as part of the regional masterplan implementation guideline.
“It also helps to bring all service providers and project implementers to the same table to fashion a common pathway based on shared vision for the development of the region.
“For another, it affords all of us the incentive and opportunity to pool our resources together, initiate projects and programmes within the obligatory goal of building a better region and empowering our people.
“By so doing, we would, arising from the conference, galvanise our energies for a common purpose, eliminate duplications and institutional suspicions in the development process.
“We would also reduce the incidence of working at cross purposes as well as reduce wastage of scarce resources allocated for regional development initiatives by all stakeholders.
“And to succeed, we must remain committed to doing things differently”, Ogbuku said.
In a keynote address, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Shuaib Belgore, urged the commission “to evolve budgets that would meet the development needs of the states and communities in the region”.
Belgore, represented by the Director of Planning and Statistics, Mr Alfred Abba, said that NDDC budgets over the years were faced with challenges, which included belated submission and delayed approvals, amongst others.
Abba said that those challenges led to low as well as poor implementation, which the conference hoped to address.
“The commission is procedurally to submit the budget proposal to the ministry, which would in turn submit to the Presidency, after scrutiny and review.
“Upon submission, the Presidency then transmits it to the National Assembly,” he said.
According to him, the way forward is to embrace robust and innovative pathways anchored on transparency and stakeholders’ participation towards right-budgeting, thus maximising the available resources to address the most critical needs of the people,” he said.
The source reports that the meeting was attended by representatives of governments of the nine Niger Delta states, international oil companies, traditional rulers, youth groups and civil society organisations, amongst others.

Niger Delta

Stakeholders In Delta Seek Stronger GBV Action, Women’s Leadership

Published

1 day ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

Stakeholders in Delta State convened in Asaba for a leadership workshop organised by Otdel Health Heritage and Environmental Initiative (OHHEI), focusing on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and women’s participation in decision-making processes.

OHHEI Project Director, Mr. Peter Olayinka, represented by a consultant, Juliet Obiajulu, urged participants to contribute meaningfully toward advancing women’s leadership and combating GBV across communities in the state.

He said the workshop aimed to strengthen participants’ capacity to influence policies, challenge harmful cultural norms, and reinforce initiatives designed to prevent and respond to GBV.

Olayinka said women often faced bias even when they occupied leadership positions, and stressed that gender diversity improved the quality of decision-making and promoted innovation and accountability in governance structures.

Speaking, the Chairperson of the Association Against Child Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, Mr Eris Jewo-Ibi, identified cultural norms, domestic responsibilities, political resistance, and grassroots barriers as constraints to women’s participation.

Delta State GBV Desk Officer, Mrs. Rosemary Okpuno, emphasised that effective decision-making required women’s perspectives, adding that inclusion remained critical to addressing persistent gender-based challenges.

Voke Angbagh of the Delta State Ministry of Justice outlined penalties for rape and called for the establishment of special courts to handle sexual offences cases.

Angbagh said frequent adjournments delayed justice for survivors, stressing that dedicated sexual offences courts would ensure timely trials and stronger protection for victims in Delta State.

The Tide’s source reports that facilitators identified cultural acceptance of violence, unequal power relations, discrimination, poverty, limited education, and low self-esteem as major drivers of GBV.

They emphasised that violence and exclusion resulted in social, physical and emotional harm, imposed economic costs, reinforced harmful stereotypes, and widened existing gender inequalities.

The source also reports that OHHEI, a local non-profit organisation, focuses on education, health, environment, and social justice, promoting sustainable development initiatives with gender equality at the centre of its interventions.

Niger Delta

C’River Suspends Taskforce Activities Over Drivers’ Protest

Published

1 day ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

The Cross River State Government has suspended all taskforce activities connected to commercial transportation and ticketing across the state.

The State Governor, Bassey Otu, announced the suspension at an emergency stakeholders meeting on Friday in Calabar.

It would be recalled that commercial drivers in Calabar metropolis took to streets on Thursday to protest alleged multiple taxation and extortion by government agencies.

During the protest, the drivers alleged that taskforce groups claiming to represent the state government openly harassed and extorted them.

Represented at the meeting by Ekpenyong Akiba, his Special Adviser on General Duties, Otu said the suspension would subsist pending further review of the situation.

The Governor stated that the state government did not commission anyone to extort drivers in the name of task force.

He urged commercial drivers and other road users to remain law-abiding while government worked out a lasting solution.

On his part, the Chairman, Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, Calabar Metropolis, Mr. Sunday Dennis, expressed optimism that the dialogue would yield positive results.

He said the meeting had provided an opportunity for the aggrieved commercial drivers to present their concerns directly to the state government.

Also speaking, the Chairman, Unified Drivers Association, Mr. Nta Henshaw, described the harassment on drivers as worrisome, and urged the state government to be decisive in resolving the matter.

Niger Delta

A’Ibom Assembly Urges More Private Investments In Agriculture

Published

1 day ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly Committee on Nutrition and Food Security has called for more private sector investments in agriculture.

The Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Moses Essien, made the call when the committee visited Aviclaire Farms, a private establishment in Usung Idem, Uruk Usoh in Abak Local Government Area.

Essien, who represents Ibiono Ibom in the Assembly, commended the Management of the farm for partnering an NGO, ECEWS, to promote private investment in agriculture.

He commended the partners for adopting climate-smart agriculture initiatives in their operations, adding that such move would promote food security.

“Your interest in using transformative intervention to promote food security is a veritable way of complementing the efforts of the state government,” he said.

The lawmaker continued that adopting practical climate-smart agriculture model would help to generate employment, improve nutrition outcomes, and strengthen food sufficiency.

He further said he was impressed with the strides recorded by the partners, saying, “your investment has created jobs for no fewer than 2,000 youths.

”You are an example of an environment-friendly investor. I urge Akwa Ibom residents to embrace environment-friendly and technology-driven agriculture models,” he said.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer, ECEWS, Dr. Andy Eyo, who conducted the committee round the farm, said the collaboration was conceived to demonstrate the viability of climate-smart farming in ensuring food sufficiency.

Eyo said the farm, which commenced operations with four greenhouses, had expanded to 14 within two years, and currently supplying high-quality produce to major markets in Uyo and neighbouring communities.

He said ECEWS was exploring cooperative frameworks to enable rural farmers and women’s groups to adopt greenhouse technology for sustainable livelihoods.

In her remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of Aviclaire Farms, Mrs. Victoria Eyo, said the controlled-environment ensured precision cultivation and consistent yields.

She further said the farm served as a capacity-building centre for students, interns, and agri-business trainees.