By Gabriel Choba
The manifestation of good governance is the fulfillment of taking the dividends of democracy to the people. However, this may require urgent steps for both political and bureaucratic institution like Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to be housed in a serene and comfortable environment to be focus to deliver its mandate.
The NDDC was created in 2000 to develop the oil producing states in Nigeria. From 2000 to 2020, a period of 20 years, the commission operated in rented apartment. This had untold effect on the morale of the personnel and finance of the commission as the resources are not optimally utilized in the best interest of the Niger Delta region.
The politics of economic diversion to feed the pockets of parasites downplaying the need to speed up development in the region. Massive funds have been spent over a span of 20 years to entrench the culture of corruption in the commission as those in charge of the commission were more interested in conspiring with contractors, consultants and top politicians to pillage the Commission under unnecessary and avoidable spending.
The lingering trend of building without end the Commission’s headquarter over the years, amounts to lack of will and determination to do the right thing. The trajectory of the NDDC building is a pointer to how the Commission’s funds have been hugely diverted.
In the midst of plenty, a single building requiring to accommodate the strategic resources of the Commission, is invariably disorganized and disabled to focus with the huge gap in the infrastructure required to bring sustainable development to the region.
NDDC is expected to prioritize the organization of the human resources by providing an enriched environment to allow its personnel to be resourceful and accountable to the commission’s activities and the region’s mandate. The behaviouralist dimension of those managing the NDDC on behalf of the Niger Delta region is typified as that of a spoiled system where goals and objectives are never achieved against the expected target.
Until the coming of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) set up by Mr. President, Muhammadu Buhari to clean the NDDC of its rot, to enable the people of the Niger Delta region get real value for their money and reap the expected development that Mr. President promised the region.
The Interim Management Committee as a clean up instrument in the hands of President Buhari, had in the last 8 months constitute real and potential threat to those who had used the commission to rape the Niger Delta region. The testament of the goodwill that emanates from the region over its support for the approved forensic audit that President Buhari allowed to go unhindered.
Consequent on the forensic audit, the quest by some leaders of the region to stop the IMC from going on with the forensic audit of past abandoned projects to account for the utilization of funds so far deployed to the NDDC, IMC has gained the confidence of the majority of the Niger Delta people in particular and the Nigerian people in general.
The President’s support for IMC and the forensic audit is beginning to pay off as the IMC again, demonstrated good will to pursue speedy completion of the NDDC building that has been lying low uncompleted in Part Harcourt. With the speedy completion, the region’s resources can now be strategically organized and deployed to pursue massive sustainable development for the region.
At time like this when the morale of the region is awaken by the demonstrated will and passion of the IMC, the President again is showing convincing evidence that good management of resources is sine qua non to the provision of human resources positioned to work at its best when given the right environment.
Sir Gabriel Choba, is a Media Consultant and writes from Delta…(07056711495)
