NDDC’s Who Is Who

A mini-biography of the eggheads behind the continuing successes of the Niger Delta Development Commission

By Funke WILLIAMS

Air Vice Marshal Larry Koinyan (Rtd.), Chairman, Governing Board

Undoubtedly, Air Vice Marshal (retd.) Larry Koinyan, one of Nigeria’s finest breed of military officers with a track record of sterling stewardship, heads the Governing Board of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. Though he hails from Trofani, Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Larry Koinyan was born on May 31, 1942 in Enugu, Enugu State. After his secondary education at Stella Maris College, Port Harcourt, Rivers State in 1962, Koinyan worked briefly with the Niger Delta Development Board before enlisting into the Nigeria Air Force, NAF, as an Officer Cadet in 1963.

During his eventful career, Koinyan attended numerous courses both in Nigeria and overseas and served in various capacities, including Platoon Commander ‘B’ Company, Garrison Battalion, Nigerian Army, Benin (1966), Adjutant, 41 Battalion, Nigerian Army 4th Area Command Asaba (1967).

At the end of the civil war where he played a key role, Koinyan was seconded to the NAF, where he held various Command and Staff appointments before ending up as Member, Supreme Military Council (1984-1985); and Member, Armed Forces Ruling Council (1985-1989). Though he retired from the NAF in January 1989 with the rank of Air Vice Marshal, AVM, Koinyan retained his position as Chairman, Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure until 1993. Since then, he has rededicated himself to the emancipation of the Niger Delta people who he has continued to serve in various capacities.

Chibuzor Ugwoha, Managing Director/CEO

Blessed with smouldering good looks that can set off fire alarms, Chibuzor Ugwoha, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, is one of a few breed of public officers who came into office with a well-articulated vision and developmental plans. Since his appointment a little over a year ago, Ugwoha has been breaking barriers, wading through troubled foliages without fear and inadvertently rewriting the chequered history of a people and its rich, but despoiled flora and fauna.

Not surprisingly, the federal government which head-hunted him to Paris, France where he was working and undergoing an Executive MBA programme at HEC, Paris, must have seen beyond his unassuming disposition, to touch base with his real essence: a tenacious streak for success spiced with a bullish drive to enthrone an ideal Niger Delta. “We must create a new Niger Delta where people can live and work in an environment that is economically and environmentally sustainable. People must be able to put food on their table, by which I also mean there has to be access to the modern way of living,” he said shortly after his appointment on August 6, 2009.

This resolve does not come as a surprise to those who have always known the MD/CEO. Born in 1964, Ugwoha attended the Erema Primary School in his native village. Secondary school education was at the Stella Marris College where he shone so well and made grades that qualified him for admission into the University of Port Harcourt. He graduated in 1988 with a second class upper degree in Urban and Regional Planning. He was posted to Katsina State for the mandatory national youth service. Thereafter, he was admitted to study for a post-graduate degree programme in Urban Regional Planning, URP. Ugwoha loves to impart knowledge and engage in intellectual debates. Thus, he chose to tee off his career as a teacher at the Government Technical College, Farufaru, Sokoto State. Later, he returned to his village where he got a job with the College of Education. Before long, he had risen to the post of Head of Department, Building Technology. In 1997, he was employed as a Land and Claims Officer by Elf Nigeria Limited. Ugwoha occupied many enviable offices at the behemoth multinational, including Land Claims Manager, Community Affairs Manager, Enterprise Development Manager and Deputy General Manager in charge of sustainable development. Elf would later second Ugwoha to Paris and it was while there that he was invited home by late President Umaru Yar’adua to bring his repertory of experience to bear on the NDDC.

Joyfully married to Ogechi Vivian since 1999, the Ugwohas are blessed with kids. Despite his busy schedule, the NDDC MD/CEO still finds time to indulge in his favourite pastimes – playing tennis and swimming.

Pastor Power Ziakede Aginighan, Executive Director, Finance and Administration

For as long as one could recall, Pastor Power Aginighan has been in the service of humanity. From his college days, PZ, as he is fondly called by his admirers, has always held leadership positions. At Government College, Bomadi, where he doubled as the best essayist and best Mathematics student in his final year, a rare feat by any student, he served as Secretary, Press Club and the Literary and Debating Society. Between 1979 and 1980, he was General Secretary of the Students’ Union Government, Rivers State University of Science and Technology; General Secretary of the Association of Accountancy Students and Public Relations Officer of the Students Literary Movement, RSUST, Secretary of Constitutional Conference of National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, in April 1980.

In recognition of his selfless contributions to the growth of Students’ Unionism in Nigeria, he was conferred with Life Membership of the Students Union of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology in 1984 by the Students’ Union Parliament. At the College of Education, Warri, where he served from 1982 to 1983, Aginighan was popularly elected President of the Senior Staff Association as well as representative of the Congregation in the College Governing Council. He also served as National Public Relations Officer, Rivers State University of Science and Technology Alumni Association. In the struggle for better living conditions for the Niger Delta people, Aginighan’s voice has been vociferous.

He was Director-General of the Ijaw Youths Action League (1980-1983), Secretary of the Ijaw Community, Warri (1985-1991), and Secretary, Delta Ijaw Consultative Committee, among many others. Born on January 9, 1959 at Ezebri in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State, he obtained the Higher National Diploma in Accountancy in 1981 at the then College of Science and Technology. He also holds the Bachelor of Science in Accountancy as well as a Masters of Business Administration from the same University.

Aginighan started his public service career as an Accountant at the College of Education, Warri, from where he rose to the position of Principal Accountant. An associate member of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, ANAN, as well as Nigerian Institute of Management, NIM, he joined the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission, OMPADEC, as Assistant Director of Finance and Accounts in April 1993, a position he held until 2001 when he was absorbed by the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. He was later promoted to the position of Deputy Director, Finance and Supply in March 2003. A distinguished writer and unrepentant campaigner for a prosperous, progressive and peaceful Niger Delta, in 1977, Pastor Aginighan was appointed Ag. Executive Director, Finance and Administration, NDDC on the 28th of May 2000. He once acted as Managing Director/Chief Officer of the Commission.

Esoetok Ikpong Ikpong Etteh, Executive Director, Projects

It is not disputatious; Esoetok Ikpong Ikpong Etteh is compulsive and passionate about his profession, architecture. In a more literal, and profound sense, he is one of the architects of the emerging face of the new Niger Delta. As the Executive Director of projects devoted to making life better for the oil-rich but underdeveloped region, this renowned architect has been credited with only appending the commission’s name to sustainable and visible developmental projects, not, grandiose, white-elephant projects that the people only hear about but do not see.

Etteh was born on September 1, 1946 at Ukpenekan, Ibeno Local Lovernment Area, Akwa Ibom State. After his primary school, he was admitted into the Methodist Boys High School, Oron, where he obtained his West African School Certificate, WASC, in 1965, and later GCE ‘A Level from Federal School of Arts and Science, Lagos in 1968. He bagged his Bachelor of Science, B.Sc (Arch) degree from the Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria in 1972, followed by a master’s degree in the same discipline in 1974. Arc. Etteh was elected Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Architects in 1994.The Executive Director, Projects started his professional career as a lecturer in his alma mater from 1974-75, and then worked briefly as an architect in the Ministry of Works, Ibadan in 1975. He joined Niger Consultants (Architects Planners) in 1976 as a resident architect, and rose to become Associate Partner. The urge to be independent led him to establish PACS Associates, a firm of architectural and planning consultants in 1981 and was its Principal Partner till his appointment as Executive Director, Projects, NDDC. He has served in many public committees and councils, including Chairman, Works and Projects Committee, Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission, OMPADEC, Akwa Ibom State Zonal Director, Eastern Zone, OMPADEC, 1998-2000, and Member of Council, (Akwa Ibom State) Niger Delta Coastal State of Development and Empowerment Council, among others.

Harrison Onwo, Director, Legal Services

Next year, precisely on December 3, Harrison Onwo would turn 50. However, he has recorded so many achievements in his life that would make people decades older than he is wonder at his seeming precociousness. A native of Oleh, Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State, Onwo obtained a Bachelor of Law (LLB) degree from the University of Benin, Edo State in 1986 and was called to the Bar the following year

Before then, he had been engaged by the Ministry of Education in Ekpoma, now in Edo State, as a Clerical Assistant. Thereafter, he was employed by the College of Education, Warri as a Clerical Officer in 1981, and later moved to the position of Senior Clerical Officer and Assistant Executive Officer in 1982 in the same institution.

His eventful legal odyssey began at the firm of A.K Osawota & Co, as a legal practitioner, and was there till 1990. He set up a private law firm, Harrison Onwo & Co in 1993, and was its principal partner until 2003 when he joined the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, as Director, Youths, Sports, Culture and Women Affairs. Until his recent redeployment, he was the Director, Education, Health and Social Services.

Dr. Princewill Ekanim, Director, Youth, Sports and Women Affairs

Though an accomplished medical doctor with over two decades work experience, Dr. Princewill Ekanim has been mandated to manage everything that involves the youths, sports and women of the Niger Delta. Understandably, women are the bedrock of the society while youths have to be well acquitted to take on the challenges the future poses. Over the years, too, the role of sports in a society has become even more solidified. All of these did not escape the Management of the NDDC which searched far and wide before deciding to give these briefs on no other person than Dr. Ekanim. His employers know his diverse qualities. And now, people of the Niger Delta cannot but laud his appointment.

Born in 1957, Dr. Princewill Ekanim had his primary education at St. Paul’s Lutheran School, Ikot Ibiok in Eket, before proceeding to the prestigious Etinam Institute between 1969 and 1973 where he emerged the best all-round student in 1971. For his Higher School Certificate, he was at the Calabar Polytechnic between 1974 and 1976 before proceeding to University of Ibadan in 1978 where he obtained his MBBS degree in 1984.

After the compulsory internship and NYSC at St. Luke’s Hospital, Anua, Uyo in 1985 and Ogun State University Medical Centre in 1986 respectively, he was involved briefly in private medical practice in Lagos, before returning to Akwa Ibom in 1988, where he was deployed to Union Cottage Hospital, Asong, by the State Health Management Board.

Later, the lure of private practice took over and he returned to Ikot Abasi to set up his own clinic  Fortune Medical Centre – reputed for its annual surgical programme that had benefitted hundreds of Niger Deltans. In the intervening years, he built an impeccable reputation of a philanthropist, a devout Christian and a distinguished surgeon for himself.

In 2000, Dr. Princewill Ekanim was appointed Special Assistant to the Executive Director (Project) in NDDC, a position he held till 2003 when he was made Deputy Director in the Special Projects Directorate of the Commission. In June 2004, he was redeployed to the Directorate of Commercial and Industrial Development, CID, and his schedule was Capacity Building, Peace Building, Conflict Resolution, Job Creation, Poverty Reduction – in short, comfortable living within the human population of the Niger Delta Region and beyond. He also supervises Information Technology Department where he is already working on policies and procedures in all areas of IT administration in the Commission.

Egbejule Jimoh Oma, Ag. Director, Finance & Supply

Egbejule Jimoh Oma was born on October 7, 1957 in Ugbuwangue, Warri South, Delta State. Like his other peers, he was enrolled in primary school. When the time came, Hussey College, Warri, was his preference for secondary school education. But it was at the Institute of Continuing Education, Benin City that he obtained the General Certificate of Education, GCE and WASC between 1975 and 1976. He then proceeded to the Auchi Polytechnic where he obtained OND and later, HND in Accountancy.

A thorough-bred accountant with an uncommon culture for details, he cut his teeth as an Accountant at the Investment and Credit Corporation of Oyo State, Ibadan, where he did his national youth service between 1982 and 1983. By 1983, he was at V.O. Odiase and Co. (Chartered Accountants) Lagos, from where he moved to Ibru Sea Foods Ltd, Lagos, between 1984 and 1985 as Assistant Accountant. His commitment, dedication and forthrightness were later to be discovered by the Ibru Group, which explains why he was moved to Superbru Ltd, another Ibru organization at Ughelli, Delta State. Oma had a brief stint at the University of Benin in 1988 as Accountant I (Audit). His career blossomed between 1989 and 1993 when he joined Life Flour Mill Ltd, Sapele, first as Project Accountant and later, Assistant Chief Accountant. It was from here that the defunct OMPADEC employed him, first as Project Manager before he was promoted Principal Accountant, Abuja office. In 2001, his appointment was formally transferred to the Niger Delta Development Commission where he has remained till date. The father of four rose to the pinnacle of his career in 2005 when he was invested as a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.

Princess Henrietta Ingo Ogan (Ph.D), Director, Planning, Research and Statistics

Being a descendant of the royal family of the late Amanyanabo of Okrika, His Royal Majesty, Sir S.P.U. Ogan, is enough challenge in itself. This is because so much is expected of such offspring especially for one who, despite being a female, has shown leadership traits from her teenage years. That has been the lot of Princess (Dr.) Henrietta Ogan. History has however been very kind to this astute professional who has achieved even more successes than anybody gave her a chance to. Princess Ogan attended Okrika Girls School and finished in 1975 at Government Girls Secondary School, Harbour Road, Port Harcourt. She was admitted to study for a Diploma in Insurance at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1978. She was later to obtain a B.Sc in Business Administration and MBA in 1984 from the same University. The unassuming but vastly knowledgeable Princess has gone on to acquire a Ph.D in Marketing and a Postgraduate Diploma in Petroleum and Environmental Law from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, RSUST,  Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt.

She has worked variously at the Rivers State College of Science and Technology, now RSUST, as an Accounts Clerk; the RivBank Insurance as Assistant Superintendent; lecturer at her alma mater and at the RSUST, where she is now an Adjunct Senior Lecturer. Princess (Dr.) Ogan was at the defunct OMPADEC as Assistant Director between 1993 and 1996 where she held various positions such as Assistant Director, Liaison office, Abuja and Assistant Director, Community Development. By 2001, her appointment with OMPADEC was formally transferred to the NDDC as Deputy Director, Administration and Human Resources. An author of international repute, Princess (Dr.) Ogan is a winner of over 20 awards of several professional associations.

Arc. Mgboji Alexander Okenwa – Head, Design Department

Architect Mgboji Alexander Okenwa is the Head, Design Department at the NDDC. Born on February 14, 1958, Okenwa had his pre-primary and primary education at (St. Theresa’s) State School, Aggah-Egbema where he came out with distinction in 1972. From 1973 to 1977, he attended St. Aquinas Secondary School, Elele. He was admitted into the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1978 where he obtained the highest professional degree in Architecture; B.Arch. (M.Sc. (Arch) equivalent) in 1984. He went on to enroll with the City and Guilds of London and obtained HTD in Construction Technology in 1998. Not done yet, Arc. Okenwa voyaged into Legal Studies and obtained a National Diploma in Law in 2007.

Conscious of how far hard work and enterprise can take one in life, Okenwa started working for his own money even before he was admitted into the university. As a youth corps member between 1984 and 1985, he was in charge of the Project Unit of the Federal Polytechnic, Bida, Niger State. Back home in 1986, he secured employment with Adapalm Nig. Ltd, Owerri, as a Building Supervisor. He rose rapidly to the position of Head of Works and Services in 1991 within which period he supervised both the mechanical works and civil construction of the various estates of the Company. He also designed and supervised the execution of 17 World Bank building projects sited in Adapalm’s Landlord Communities. From 1993 to 1999, he was a staff of the defunct OMPADEC, first as the Chief Engineer, then the Chief Architect in the Project Monitoring Directorate and later, the Zonal Coordinator for Abia, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Imo states. He transferred his services to the present NDDC in 2000 as a Principal Manager in the Directorate of Utilities, Infrastructural Development & Waterways. He was promoted Assistant Director and later, Deputy Director. On May 20, 2009, he was named the Head of the newly created Design Department. Okenwa is a poet and associate member of the Nigerian Institute of Architects and Chartered Member, Nigerian Institute of Management. He is blessed with kids.

Kaltungo Muljengo, Head, Procurement Unit

Discipline and commitment to the pursuit of the ideal have always been the watchword of Kaltungo Muljengo. And you can’t exactly blame him: he has known from his teens that if he wanted to make any headway in life, he had to uphold these virtues. Fortunately, they have paid off for him.

Born on May 29, 1963 in Kaltungo, Gombe State, Kaltungo Muljengo enrolled at the Nigeria Military School, Zaria from 1979 to1984 where he obtained his G.C.E O’Level. He proceeded to Bauchi College of Arts & Science, Bauchi, where he obtained his IJMB Certificate in 1986. Muljengo obtained his LLB (Hons) Degree from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1989, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1990. He also holds a Diploma in French Language obtained from the Universite Nationale Du Benin, Cotonou in 1983.

He began his career shortly after his call to the Bar with G.T Bello & Co Legal Consultants as an Associate Solicitor from 1990-91, and later joined Albarka Chambers in Kaduna as a Senior Counsel where he was  till 1993. Muljengo was appointed Personal Assistant to the Commissioner in charge of Legal Matters & Audit in the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission, OMPADEC, in 1993, and later rose to the position of Principal Legal Officer in the Commission in 1995. At the inception of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, in 2001, Muljengo was made acting Head, Legal Services between 2001 and 2002. He reverted to the substantive position of Principal Manager, Legal Services in 2003, a position he held till 2006 when he was promoted to the position of Assistant Director in the Directorate. In May 2009, Muljengo was appointed to his present position of Head, Due Process, in the Commission and later re-designated Head, Procurement Unit. His interests span advocacy, writing, travelling and reading. So does his affiliation with several local and international professional bodies.

A decade ago, the Presidency established the Niger Delta Development Commission, as an interventionist agency to help give the oil-rich Niger Delta region a facelift. Although, so far, the commission has recorded giant strides, it faces hurdles in putting smiles on the faces of the people

By Dare ADEJUMO

Before the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, came on board, there had been attempts at tackling the peculiar challenges of the Niger Delta region. Interventionist agencies had been put in place by government after government. But for reasons bordering on too much bureaucracy, among others, the agencies did not succeed in achieving the aims for which they were set up. So, when NDDC came, the first hurdle it faced was that of cynicism. Many just saw it as another white elephant agenda from the Federal Government to deceive the Niger Delta people. Many saw in it a place to come for free meal.

Largely, this perception has not fully given way. Despite efforts of the management of the commission to prove that it is not out to give free meal, some still look forward to it to give out money for work not done. The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Chibuzor Ugwoha, said that some people had found it difficult to accept change. They just want to continue doing things the old way. He described this challenge as the number one facing the commission. Ugwoha said: “Of course, it is normal that people resist change everywhere but the difference here is that the people want to avoid change at all costs. People  here are more interested in collecting money to share and not how such money can be collectively earned. They don’t care if this money needs to be invested. A contractor moves into a particular community but the people will not allow him to work until he pays them certain amount of money because they do not see the project  astheirs, they see it as NDDC project.But things cannot continue this way”. So, he is engaging the people to make them accept change and also see projects as their own and not NNDC’s.
There is also the challenge of over-expectations. Ugwoha said: “Also there is this other side in which everybody wants NDDC to do everything. When there is no water, they think it is the NDDC that should be called upon and so on and so
forth. So, at the end of the day, you start to ask what all the other bodies and government agencies do because NDDC is an interventionist body.  The NDDC receives just about seven percent of money that comes to the region while the
various governments and parastatals and agencies receive about 93 per cent, but everyone still thinks the NDDC should do everything there.”
One other stumbling block is that of government not keeping to the dictates of the NDDC Act regarding contributions to its coffers. As at today, based on the 15 percent prescribed by the Act, the Federal Government is owing the Commission about half a trillion naira. Imagine what development such resources would have brought to the people of the region. This was why a member, House of Representatives and Chairman, House Committee on the Niger Delta, Honourable Nicholas Mutu, berated the government for keeping money due to the commission.  “What the NDDC needs are enough funds for adequate implementation of its projects and programmes in the Niger Delta region. I call on the multinational companies operating in the region to emulate the good gestures of the Commission by helping to upgrade the academic standards in our universities,” he said.

Project monitoring is another bottleneck the commission is tackling. As a result of the mentality that the commission is out to give free meal, some people given jobs to do usually deliver sub-standard jobs. This is why the Commission has stepped up the tempo of monitoring and supervision of its ongoing projects across the Niger Delta region, just as it insists that all projects must be completed to design and specification.  “It is only through regular project monitoring’ that we can keep the contractors on their toes; we are adopting new strategies of monitoring and supervision,” Ugwoha said.
He said that the Commission was also mindful of safety at some of the project sites and was putting arrangements in place to ensure that contractors comply with all safety standards at the sites.  “We will get safety officers for projects, they will be held responsible for safety of workers at sites, for every project, we need a safety officer,” he said.

In order to tackle this challenge, the commission held a meeting with consultants supervising its 45 Mega Projects. At the meeting, Ugwoha warned that the commission would no longer tolerate the non-challant attitude of some of the
Consultants towards projects delivery. “All projects must be executed in line with specifications. Our people need development. Everyone must partner together to accomplish this for the good of all as you are playing a critical role in this direction,” he said.

The Commission also decided that the payment of consultancy fees would be based on performance of contractors and that every project awarded must be pursued with speedy execution. Said Ugwoha: “We have told our contractors that it is no longer business as usual. NDDC now has a standard which the contractors must keep to or be sanctioned. The projects are not for NDDC, they are for the people; that is why we request state governments to assist in ensuring that they are executed to standard.”
The problem of stalling the commission’s project recently made Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State vow to resist attempts by any individual or group of persons in the state to stall any project embarked upon by NDDC in the state. The governor’s warning came following reports of stoppage of work on the NDDC’s Oben-Umughun Road project due to unbecoming actions of some people. Oshiomhole said the road would link the oil-producing village of Oben with Umoghun-Nokwua and other villages along the Benin-Abraka road in Orhionmwon Local Government: “We shall not fold our arms to watch the selfish interest of one single individual constitute an impediment to this project.

Government will mobilise to forestall this,” adding, “peace in the Niger Delta means peace in Nigeria, and that peace can only come if we collaborate with one another to develop the region.”

The Commission also faces the headache of working in a difficult terrain in terms of nature of soil and water. The nature of the soil in most areas of the region is such that excavations have to be done before roads are built. This means the commission has to spend more. This nature of land also affects water projects. The Ondo State coordinator of the NDDC, Sam Ayadi, an engineer, said: “Here in the entire Ilaje Local Government, to get good water, sometimes you go more than 1000 feet into the ground, you don’t get potable water.” The problem, according to him, “is that we still have high concentration of iron so we have to introduce treatment”. The result, he said, is that “the average cost of bringing water to this area is higher than in other areas.”

While reeling out the scorecard of his administration to a gathering of mediamen at an event which was held at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Lagos on Thursday, September 2, 2010, Ugwoha pointed out that the peculiarities of the topography of the Niger Delta poses a lot of challenges to its development in terms of money and time. That, according to the NDDC boss, has made it easy for people who do not understand the terrain to hastily conclude that nothing is really being done with all the resources being given to the Commission. “Assuming one wants to build a hall or a school in the region, one must first of all reclaim the land. Unlike the topography of some other regions where you just clear the field and begin to build, it is not so here. Again, if one wants to transport building materials to the site, the cost of carrying the materials almost doubles what one spends buying those materials”, he said.

Perhaps, to solve this issue of logistics, the NDDC is already being proactive. The Commission has almost completed the design of a coastal road from Calabar to Lagos. If that road is completed, it might take only three hours to drive from Port Harcourt to Lagos. The cost of constructing this road is estimated at N1.8 trillion. But the Commission says there is the need for cooperation from the federal government, other corporate organizations and foreign donors to achieve this feat.

With its relentless commitment to opening up communities that had hitherto not been accessible, residents laud the Niger Delta Development Commission’s extension of development frontiers

By Joseph OMOSEBI

A member of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, who was posted to Community Secondary School, Trofani in Sagbama Local Government of Bayelsa State for his primary assignment, wept like a baby when he realised that the community was, at that time, not accessible by road from Yenagoa. He was so distraught about having to travel to Delta State before getting to Trofani by boat. He sought and got another posting for his primary assignment. But for Timipere Akiou, a resident of Trofani, who hails from Amassoma also in Bayelsa State, there was no way he could avoid the call of duty which took him to Trofani. Akiou, who teaches at the Community Secondary School, has been residing in Trofani since 2004. He says his first trip to Trofani entailed travelling by road from Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, to Ughelli, from where he proceeded to Oleh and then to Asaba-Ase, all in Delta State. From Asaba-Ase, Akiou boarded a speedboat to Trofani. “Sometimes, the trip could take over 10 hours as we might have to wait for over three hours to get a boat for the 10-minute journey from Asaba-Ase to Trofani,” says Akiou.

That is no longer the case. Trofani is now very easily accessible, through the East-West Road, from Odi by a road which the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, constructed. According to Smart Fiamaowei, Secretary of Trofani community, NYSC members and school teachers used to be scared of coming to Trofani, “but now they are ready to come here.”

Mr. Moses Okpako, headmaster of Community Primary School 2, Trofani, elaborates on how the Odi-Trofani Road contributes to educational development. “We have seen new development with the completion of this road. Now it is easier for education supervisors to come into Trofani. In the past, because of the difficulties of reaching Trofani, sometimes before supervisors got here, the school would have closed.”

The tedium of getting to Trofani in the past also limited the economic opportunities available to residents of the community. But as envisaged by the NDDC, the completion of the Odi-Trofani Road has opened a wide array of economic and social opportunities for the people of the community. Chief Alabo Boro, Vice Chairman of Trofani community, said: “We are very appreciative of NDDC. The Odi-Trofani Road has brought about a great improvement in the socio-economic lives of the people. Now, vehicles can access Trofani to evacuate farm produce to other communities. The road has made it easier for us to sell our farm produce and fish.”

In addition to the above economic activities, the road has brought about some measure of empowerment for youths in the transportation sector. Many young men in Trofani, Odi and adjourning communities now convey passengers along the Odi-Trofani Road with their motorcycles. One of the commercial motorcyclists who ply the route, Alaowei Egbuson, said the road had created jobs and opened up Trofani. “People now come here from Warri and other places to buy pepper, okro and plantains from our farmers. NDDC has wiped our tears with this road,” he said.

Not too long ago, when the first vehicle drove into Trofani, the community was agog, as everyone trooped out to catch a glimpse of the first car to traverse the community.  Nowadays, all sorts of vehicles, particularly lorries, drive into Trofani daily from Aba, Owerri and Port Harcourt to buy timber ferried to the banks of the river that runs along the community. Chief Oroupuadoh Okubo, a member of the Trofani Regency Council, said: “The economic importance of the Odi-Trofani Road is enormous. The use of Trofani as a base for loading timber creates jobs for some of our boys. With the coming of the road, our market, which was paralysed, is now functional every Tuesday. Bread sellers and marketers of other products can now come into Trofani.”

To underscore how NDDC has alleviated the burdens of Trofani people, Okubo explained that before the construction of the road, it used to cost them N50 to load one bag of cement at Asaba-Ase and N150 to transport each bag by boat from there to Trofani. “But now, there are cement shops in Trofani and the extra costs of loading and transportation are no longer there. I can assure you that in five years, Trofani will be a paradise.” Okubo’s optimism is a reflection of the widespread ecstasy among the people of Trofani and neighbouring communities that had never been traversed by motor vehicles until NDDC executed the Odi-Trofani Road project.

The project, which includes five bridges, is part of the Commission’s endeavour to provide part of the critical infrastructure required to facilitate socio-economic development of more rural communities in the Niger Delta. The Commission is determined to give the people a new lease of life. It is also in line with the tenets of the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan. The Foundation Phase of the Master Plan has two major goals. The first is to reduce poverty by creating jobs and increasing productivity, especially in the agricultural and small and medium enterprises sectors. The second goal is to promote industrialisation and socio-economic transformation of the region by creating an enabling environment for increased economic activities, diversification and sustainable development in the long term.

As in Trofani and environs, numerous other communities in the Niger Delta are experiencing socio-economic reinvigoration as a result of efforts by the NDDC to open up areas that had never been accessible by road. For instance, Ogbogu, a serene rural community in Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, has been transformed tremendously with the construction of internal roads and drainages by the NDDC. The paramount ruler of Ogbogu community, His Royal Highness, Eze Jacob Isaac Abraham, the Ochi Oha 1, is full of gratitude to the NDDC. “The Ogbogu internal roads have opened up this community to a very large extent. In place of bush paths, we now have roads and Ogbogu is now highly accessible.”

Similarly, the NDDC recently completed a road project, with a bridge across the Imo River, to link Okehi and Eberi, headquarters of Etche and Omuma local governments respectively, both in Rivers State. Jemimah Nwuju, a resident of Eberi, gives an insight into the importance of the project. According to her, the road facilitates the access of Omuma people to Etche, a task that used to take them to Owaza in Abia State before coming back to Rivers State. For those who did not want to travel that long before getting to Etche, the only option was to cross the Imo River in dugout canoes, an adventure that made many people drown. Surrounded by several women who concurred with her submissions, she concludes with an appreciation: “We are very happy about this road and bridge.”

Such is the gratitude to NDDC that resonates, from one community to another, where the Commission’s projects extend the frontiers of development in the region by opening up areas that had never been accessible by road. By far, these projects typify the great promise the Commission holds for the Niger Delta and the impact it can make on the lives of the people with the active support of other stakeholders.

On November 20, 1999, Odi, a community in Bayelsa State, was levelled by the military after some of its youths killed police officers. Thanks to the Niger Delta Development Commission and the resilience of the people of this coastal town, Odi has moved on

By Winnie OBUNDE

It is hard to believe that tragedy once struck here in gargantuan quantum. Year was 1999. The army struck and Odi, Bayelsa State became a desolate town. Homes went down. Businesses were crushed. Lives were lost. Many of them. Up until this day, no one can say exactly how many lives were lost to the holocaust in Odi. It was a scary tide, which left dreary signatures on the then serene, far-flung, unknown and unsung island town situated on the banks of rivers of fresh fishes. Its infrastructures were destroyed and the people went on exile, abandoning the great River Nun, which poet Gabriel Okara penned great lines about many years ago.

It had all started when   CSP Jokotola, with six other policemen, sent to Odi on ’special duty’ were pounced on by some hoodlums who had retreated to that town.
Their corpses were discovered days after. Then President Olusegun Obasanjo issued a seven-day ultimatum for those behind the murder to be arrested. “The instructions given to the troops were clear, specific and unambiguous: dislodge perpetrators of violence, restore law and order and apprehend suspected murderers,”  said the then Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr.  Doyin Okupe.

However, five days before the ultimatum, the President invoked emergency powers. Forty-eight hours later, the rural town of Odi was levelled. Over 300 were reported killed in the military action.

The force commander, who commanded the operation, said: “On arrival at Odi township, the soldiers were put under heavy bombardment from highly sophisticated artillery (manned) by trained fighters disguising as  youths. This gang of dissidents made it impossible for troops to enter the township for over three hours, and because of approaching night and to avoid unnecessary civilian casualties, the government troops withdrew and laid low even though they had the fire power and manpower to overrun the militant terrorists. The troops resorted to this in order not to depart from their brief and to ensure that there is no wastage of human life.”

It was true that they retreated, but the next morning, they deployed maximum force and brought the town  to its knees. The invasion of Odi remains the biggest internal military operation ever carried out by the Nigerian Army. As the country marks its 50th anniversary, Odi is back. It has risen from the ashes made of it by the rampaging soldiers who wanted to avenge the death of some security  operatives allegedly killed by militants from the town, which produces the  nation’s singing sensation, Timaya.  In that tragedy, Timaya’s parents lost their bakery, which was supplying the town with its bread needs. So pained was Timaya that he sang about the sad experience in his song, True Story. But the true story of Odi now as Nigeria marks its 50th anniversary is that the tide has returned to Odi and, save
memories of lost ones, it is hard to believe that Odi was once levelled.

Buildings which caved in under heavy influence of sub-machine guns have resurrected, and looking more elegant than before. The water supply cut off by the tragedy has long been restored. The East-West Road in the town is looking
grand. The schools are back to life, with pupils and students enjoying their studies. Many do not even remember the days of guns. Electricity supply to Odi is more than a splutter from the grid.

However, the new face of Odi is one of the enduring signposts of the interventionist role of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, an agency that has proved to be a friend of the people of Odi. It has helped shake off the effects of the military face-off with Odi youths in 1999, which left the proud ancient town in ruins.

The commission has played a historic role in the restoration of Odi. It rehabilitated the East-West-Odi Road, the major land access to the town, and constructed internal concrete road to the Odi Community Secondary School, which
was inaccessible. The NDDC also performed miracle at the secondary school where students literally swam to their classrooms. Four bungalows built by NDDC serve as staff quarters. The commission similarly provided Science equipment for the school’s Physics, Chemistry and Biology laboratories.

Truman Abiama, principal of the school, said the school suffered a setback when its original location was upgraded to a Federal Government College and the students were hurriedly rushed to a new location. Now, thanks to NDDC, the
school stands majestically as a major part of Odi restoration. Since it was commissioned on May 27, 2003, its story has changed.  Founded in the old site in 1972, its student population is now more than 450. The teachers’ population has also gone up. The school has never had it so good.

Roseline Amange, a housewife, said NDDC deserved to be praised for helping the people of Odi get over the sad experience that the 1999 tragedy was. she said: “The NDDC was new at the time, but it did not give any excuse. It
came to the rescue of the people of Odi in many areas, be it water, electricity and the rebuilding of the school that was destroyed by the evil attackers. If not for the commission, I am not too sure that the town would have easily come
out of that tragedy. And up till now, the NDDC has not left us. It keeps coming to our aid.” Amange added: “The commission also stepped into the abandoned Odi Water Project, which was started by the defunct OMPADEC and made it functional. Today, Odi is a vibrant town with a new energy and brighter future.”

For Norman Allwell, a primary school teacher, NDDC has more than any other agencies done more to help the people of Odi regain their lost paradise. “We cannot but thank the NDDC. It has done a lot for us. See the Odi-Trofani Road
for instance. It is a major project, which no state government in Bayelsa has ever thought of. That road has bridges and link roads, which mean our town has been further opened up and this is good for us to transport our farm produce and
fishes to other neighbouring towns and make brisk business.”Before the NDDC did the Odi-Trofani Road, said to be of world standard, the only access to Trofani was through the high seas and Patani, Delta State. But all that has now become history. Indigenes of Odi and Trofani, who never had the right to drive to their town now cruise home without hassles.

Travelling from Odi to Trofani since the new road was opened has been all fun. Passengers said no agency but the NDDC should take the credit for the 18-kilometre road in Kolokuma-Opokuma council. “It is another major feat of the
NDDC. The road has opened up various communities between Odi and Trofani. It passes through major oil-producing communities and has enhanced both social and economic lives of the people significantly,” said ThankGod Tonkunoh, a resident of Odi. According to him, the people of Odi and Trofani would never forget NDDC. The 18-kilometre Odi-Trofani Road has opened up many communities along the way. To achieve this feat, the contractor had to carry out excavation and sand-filling ranging from five to 10 metres in different areas, depending on the terrain. Pereire Oguma, an Odi woman, said: “We never knew this would ever happen, thank God  for NDDC.”

The importance of the road to the people is evident in their reaction on the first day automobiles rolled into Odi. They were said to have screamed and shouted: “Moto bodo! Moto bodo!” (Motor has come! Motor has come!).
Before the road was constructed, the two means of access to Odi were through Patani in Delta State or through the River Nun.

David Agonodi, vice chairman of Odi community, told The Capitol: “We are so happy to see a road from Trofani to our town. It cuts down drastically the time and money we spend to travel to other communities.”  It used to cost one person N 1,650 to travel from Odi to Yenagoa, the state capital. But now through this road, it costs less than N200 to Yenagoa.

For Odi, it is indeed a new dawn after the harrowing nights of 1999.

Cerebral Chibuzor Ugwoha has been in the oil industry for quite some time. He was in Paris, France when the call to duty beckoned on him. He was subsequently appointed into the management of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer on August 6, 2009 by former President, late Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua. In this interview, with Dele Agekameh, Editor-in-Chief; Dare Adejumo, Senior Editor; Funso Olaogun, Senior Editor; Winnie Obunde, Assistant Editor; and Jibril Sado, Senior Writer, Ugwoha fielded questions on his vision for the region, the achievements of the commission, the problems and prospects of development in the region and how he plans to make a remarkable difference in the lives of the Niger Delta people, especially through capacity building. Extracts:

As Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NDDC in the last one year, what programmes have you been able to execute?

Well, when we came in, we inherited 44 big projects that were at the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and I had to ensure that they were awarded. The contractors are right now on the fields. Altogether, we have 45 ongoing mega projects with the addition of the new NDDC headquarters.

What are some of these projects?

They are projects involving roads, bridges, flood control, electricity, name them. These are projects designed to open up the Niger Delta in line with the master plan. Again, it is important to note that the NDDC as an agency of government is an interventionist agency. And like I normally tell people, as an interventionist agency, we are supposed to do things faster. We are not supposed to be another government bureaucracy where things are done sluggishly, because we have seen that there is no way that bureaucracy can bring about accelerated development and that is why we are where we are today. But the normal thing for us to do is to begin to act as a task force, but that is not to say that due process cannot be followed. We have to design the process to enable us move faster. People are in dire need of development; it is not a case of whether they need it or not. No, they badly need it.

‘In three years’ time … we are going to have a whole lot of people who now have the requisite skills, skills that are in demand, to provide services in this country and, therefore, grease the wheels of national development’

So how are you going about this?

My belief is that you cannot have development, especially in the context of the Niger Delta, without investing heavily in human capital. You cannot transform the fortune of the region to a place of peace and economic prosperity without looking beyond infrastructure. Infrastructural development is good as it brings about immediate, visible results, but it is not sustainable. Now, if you look around the region, the major problem of the region is that a whole lot of people have no means of livelihood, largely because they are unskilled, and not because there is no job. Jobs exist, but they do not just fit in. Therefore, the only way is to build their capacity so that they can participate in the economic activities that are going on around them either in the region or outside of it. And that is what is grossly lacking. Human capital development is not a short-term achievement. It is either medium or long term and it is not visible. For instance, it takes a child six years to go through primary school and another six or five years to go through secondary school. Then there is another four or five years to go through university in addition to a year in national service. So, when you put all these together, for 17 years, you have built this person and after about 18 years, he should be ready to deliver results and earn a living. Therefore, I feel very strongly that to solve the Niger Delta problem, we must put food on the table of Niger Deltans.

How do you achieve that?

We can achieve this mostly through human capital development, and attention must be given to it. The people who are going to build the infrastructure in the region must have the skill, which gives them a means of livelihood and removes idleness from their minds. So, people are employed as economic activities go on while the issue of social vices is brought to rest and then you can have peace. But a situation where people do not have the skills and you have to import people from outside to do jobs in these people’s area while the dwellers of the area only get the menial part of the job, there is bound to be some discontent and crisis. And that is something we must guard against. Therefore, I make bold to say that the solution to the Niger Delta crisis lies squarely in human capacity building.

How do you intend to achieve this capacity building?

I have noticed that there are a whole lot of graduates, but our schools, over the years, have not been able to come up with curricular that can provide answers to the existing realities. That is why there are lots of graduates who are unemployable. Even those who are employable, when employers advertise, they advertise for three, five or seven years’ experience. But how can a man who has not worked at all get any work experience? I felt one way out of the problem is to introduce what I call Niger Delta Technical Aid Corps, NTAC. The idea is to provide them with experience so that they could work and then build their CVs that would enable them get another job or that would expose them to the point that they could say “instead of working for someone else, let me be on my own.” For instance, there are many supermarkets whose owners have no money to employ accountants. Through this corps, they can get accountants because the commission will pay about N30,000 while they pay about N15,000. So, it is affordable for the employer as they are getting cheap labour for quality service. Before now, you were running a supermarket without a record of account, but now you have a qualified accountant keeping the record for you. By so doing, the person also learns how to run a business in the practical sense and this could come in handy for him in the future. So, that is the reason behind the technical aid corps which is fashioned along the line of the National Youth Service Corps, although while the NYSC is for one year, this one is for two years.

We wanted to start with about 2,000 graduates, but to my surprise, over 57,000 graduates applied and selection then became a very big issue. When we advertised, I had told the director involved that we should advertise online, but he insisted that we did it manually. But by the time we had 57,000, it was now too difficult to sort out the applicants. Anyway, the 2000 that were selected started the programme on August 3, this year.

What about the unskilled ones, the ones who have not gone to school? What do you do for them?

There are several other special programmes. For instance, we have welding programmes and we believe that those who didn’t go to school will still have ways to do other small programmes, including agriculture where we have so far trained about 5000 people. In the Nigeria of today, we need to continue to encourage people through free education up to the junior secondary school level, to go to school because there is no reason why people should not. So, aside from this one that is strictly for those who are educated, we believe everyone has to benefit. In this regard, we have also just trained about 220 youths in film acting and directing. You don’t have to be a graduate; once you can speak some form of English, you will benefit from the film project. You may not be the one who will handle the whole thing. And in this case, we have partnered the New York Film Academy to help us with the training. We believe that we could go into other areas like furniture making. We are at the moment discussing with the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), the National Poverty Alleviation Programme (NAPEP) and so on. We also have a programme with Oron Maritime Academy where we are billed to train about 150 youths. Then we are in partnership with United Nations (UNITA) and have built a centre for good governance. Under the progamme we are going to train 100 youths in Norway in underwater activities. We are also in discussion with Ford Motors and are into partnership with the Czech Republic in order to build tractors for mechanized farming. We also have the macro-credit scheme where we hope to give loans to rural women. About N1 billion has been deposited in 10 banks for this purpose.  In addition to this, we have entered into partnership with NIMASA (Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency) where we hope to train 1000 youths in seafaring for a period of three years. I discovered that there are about 50,000 vacancies with nobody to fill them. One of the things I have been trying to be careful about is that I do not want to go into human capital development in areas where there are no demands, because if you train people in such areas, you are not really empowering them.

What are the current challenges facing the commission?

The number one challenge is that the people are used to doing things in certain ways. All this is a factor of change and that change is being challenged. Of course, it is normal that people are resisting change everywhere but the difference is that here, the people want to avoid change at all costs. People here are more interested in collecting money to share and not how such money can be collectively earned. They don’t care if this money needs to be invested. People know that, for instance, they don’t have water to drink but they are merely interested in just sharing the money that could be used in providing that water. There are both internal and external challenges. A contractor moves into a particular community but the people will not allow him to work until he pays them certain amount of money because they see the project as not their own. They see it as NDDC project. In most cases, many of the projects executed by the NDDC are left to decay because nobody wants to take care of the projects. I have had to appeal and I am still appealing to state governments in the Niger Delta Region to take absolute control of all these projects in their states. NDDC is not a parallel government. Whatever supervision the states are doing over their own projects should be extended to the NDDC projects in their states. After all, there are no NDDC states; it is only the existing 36 states and the FCT that are recognised by the Constitution. All what NDDC is doing is on behalf of the states, the communities therein and the people in the states. But it is sad to note that the projects, sited in the states, are obviously suffering from ownership crisis and nothing more. This crisis of ownership is needless and unnecessary. The states have rights to monitor the projects in their states. They can even stop any contractor if he or she is not doing the job to standard or satisfaction and then report to the NDDC. There must be value for money. The state governments, the local governments, the communities and the people must show interest in whatever development that is taken place in their areas. They own the projects, so they must take more than a passing interest or passive interest in them. That is how these projects can become meaningful and contribute to the uplift of the living standard of the people. Those projects were executed with taxpayers’ money and the taxpayers must take absolute control of them.

What are you doing to combat this?

We have initiated workshops to let them understand why they should see those projects as their own, because NDDC is not going to drink water in their community. If NDDC provides water in their community, it is for their own good and not for NDDC. So, we are focusing on value re-orientation. We are also battling with the attitude of contractors who struggle to get contracts and then sit back and refuse to execute them, preferring instead to spend the money as their own piece of the cake. But the third part is that some projects are collected not because people feel that the community people are in need of the projects but because those people just want the money in it. There may be other pressing issues but people take up certain contracts just to get the money, not minding whether or not they are really needed.

But you can get the banks to sign guarantees for some of the contractors who collect money without executing contracts.

As a matter of fact, we don’t pay contractors without bank guarantees. But then the banks themselves also create another problem. Apart from colluding with the contractors in some cases, the banks tend to make it difficult for the contractor to get his money after a project has commenced as they start demanding for all sorts of collateral securities. Also, there is this other side – everybody wants NDDC to do everything. When there is no water, they think it is the NDDC that should be called upon and so on and so forth. So at the end of the day, you start to ask: “What do all the other bodies and government agencies do because NDDC is an interventionist body?”  The NDDC receives just about seven percent of money that comes to the region while the various governments and parastatals and agencies receive about 93 per cent, but everyone still thinks the NDDC should do everything there. We feel that we must encourage the states to do more. That is why we are currently in partnership with Cross River State in hatchery in order to produce day-old chicks and encourage poultry farming. We also have a rice project with T4M Agro-Tech, UK, to help boost rice production. Those who never went to school can go into rice production. Right now, in Bayelsa State, we have built a big processing plant at Elele and we have another one which is not as big as that in Akwa Ibom State. The aim is that we should be able to turn the situation around in the Niger Delta so that within a short time, the region will not only be known for oil production but also for rice production. We are acquiring land from all the states to see how these rice farms can be established. We have also encouraged those who have big farms by getting tractors for them so that they can go ahead and produce more food.

What are your achievements in health services?

In the area of health services, we have continued to offer free health programmes through the Free Medical Outreaches in various communities in the states. Last year alone, more than 170 medical trips were undertaken in various communities in the Niger Delta region and more than one million people benefitted from these free health services. Apart from free drugs, we also distribute treated mosquitoes nets while we carried out various forms of surgical operations. We attended to special referral cases where indigent citizens with chronic ailments write to the NDDC requesting for assistance which was instantly granted. We now foot the bills for treatment both within and outside the country. Such referral cases include kidney transplant and others. Our medical teams are deployed to rural communities regularly to offer free treatment to people. This year alone, we have 72 of such missions. The NDDC is also partnering with an organisation, Bridge of Life, based in the United States of America, to build a dialysis centre in the region.

‘I believe that when there is employment, things will take a better shape, because when you have a good job, you will think less of carrying gun. And as more and more people get meaningfully engaged, you will find people telling themselves that they must follow the right path to live’

What are you doing to open up the rural areas?

The NDDC has been carrying out interventions through several road maintenance projects in the nine states. The purpose of this is to ensure that roads which have become impassable are quickly fixed to enhance vehicular movements as well as promote optimal economic activities in the region. Examples of such roads are Itu-Calabar Road, East-West Road, Mbiama Road and many others. Right now, the NDDC has almost completed the design of a coastal road that will run from Calabar to Lagos. The road will cost N1.18 trillion. When completed, it might only take three hours to drive from Port Harcourt to Lagos. Similarly, NDDC is collaborating with local governments in the region to bring development to the grassroots. This is an entirely new initiative of this administration. It is our own way of encouraging local government councils to provide some basic amenities in their domain. It involves NDDC contributing two-thirds of the project sum while the local governments contribute one-third of the total cost. For example, if the total project sum is, say N45 million, the NDDC will contribute N30 million while the local government pays N15 million. Currently, five local governments in each of the nine states are benefitting from the scheme. It is at the pilot stage. A team of representatives from the local governments and the NDDC are constituted and required to work out what the needs of each local governments are and then plan and implement the project. A special fund or account is opened where the representatives are signatories. The partners – the LGs and NDDC – are expected to deposit their financial commitments into the account. The representatives do the selection, plan, design and implement the project. The idea is to encourage local governments to provide amenities for their communities. If the money is there, there is no way contractors will not complete their jobs. At the end of the year, 45 projects are completed in the nine states. Something will be there for the people. This is just to encourage them to meet the basic needs at the grassroots. Some of the local governments want town halls for the people, some of them want to provide water to drink or even mono pumps. Through this collaboration at the grassroots, one local government can have as many mono-pumps scattered everywhere. By the time we measure the success of this pilot phase, we shall replicate it in all local governments in the region. It is to ensure that local governments put back, at least, some of their money into development. The idea could bring about a big competition among the local governments.

What other programmes do you have for the people?

There is another programme to update the teachers on modern teaching techniques. We do this by organising workshops so as to improve their performance. We resorted to this because we discovered that if they are not given constant refresher courses, the pupils and students could be affected by obsolete teaching methods. We feel that if they are not trained and retrained, they may not deliver well. They need to be acquainted with modern teaching systems and we are doing this in all the nine states. We also do de-worming of school pupils, a programme the NDDC has been doing before now. When children are sick, they do not go to school; when they are healthy, going to school becomes pleasurable – they will learn and benefit tremendously. When a child does well in school, it becomes an encouragement. I have also instituted a scholarship programme. Starting from September this year, no fewer than 200 Niger Deltans will be going overseas for their masters and PhD in the Sciences. It is for postgraduate students only, but we want to create the opportunity for indigent students to see that if they do well, then they could also benefit from this largesse. We believe that this will challenge Niger Delta youths in the universities to work harder. The idea is also to encourage students in primary and secondary schools to work harder, knowing that the opportunity is there for them. We believe that if this is sustained, in a space of four years, we should have about 800 masters’ degree holders from Niger Delta who can look for jobs anywhere.

‘The state governments, the local governments, the communities and the people must show interest in whatever development that is taken place in their areas. They own the projects… That is how these projects can become meaningful and contribute to the uplift of the living standard of the people’

So, when do you predict an end to this militancy in its actual form?

We believe that if this is supported, it depends on if at the end of my tenure, the next people who come in will seize the opportunity to open more doors for more people through capacity building. I believe that when there is employment, things will take a better shape, because when you have a good job, you will think less of carrying gun. And as more and more people get meaningfully engaged, you will find people telling themselves that they must follow the right path to live.

We learnt that the government is still owing the NDDC a backlog.

Yes, at the moment, I don’t know if I should say that we are being owed. But based on the calculation of the 15 per cent, we can say that government owes the commission about half a trillion naira. That has piled up over the years but I must say that under this late Yar’Adua/Jonathan’s presidency, the Commission got all that was due to it in 2009. And that is a remarkable improvement in funding.

What are you doing to maximise efficiency in the NDDC?

When I assumed office at the commission, I told everyone that staff welfare will be given a priority because I believe that a happy and well-motivated staff will provide better result. Since my assumption of duty, we have reviewed salaries upward and promoted those who were due for promotion. We have also looked at people who acquired new certificates while on the job and have moved them up. We have looked into the issue of allowances and sorted it out. And we have ensured that salaries are paid when due and have taken prompt action to settle whatever friction or discontent is being raised by the unions, thus ensuring there is peace and industrial harmony.

What is the total strength of the workforce?

It is about 1,230. But I have insisted that people should be provided with tools to work. Consequently, we have deployed our intranet and made payment and document verification easier. We have also continued to work to ensure that contractors are paid promptly. Before now, computer programme here was more of appreciation but we have given specific emphasis to our engineers and accountants and other professionals such that all our staff are aided to work more easily and effectively, with better skills. So, I would say that we are being more professional in our approach by modifying some of the things that were here before I came in order to create more complete professionals that are appropriately empowered to work. It is a form of opening up more opportunities for the workforce. And because this is more of an oil and gas area, we have concluded arrangement with a company to train about 65 youths in drilling engineering. And the good part of it is that the company, Pauliza Limited, has assured us that as soon as the training is complete, they would employ 10 out of the 65 immediately and they would also help seek jobs for the remaining ones. Just last month, we sponsored an under-16 tennis clinic and tournament for the Niger Delta states. This is because we are aware that not everybody can be good in academics, so they can go into sports.

‘We (NDDC) discovered that if teachers are not given constant refresher courses, the pupils and students could be affected by obsolete teaching methods. We feel that if they are not trained and retrained, they may not deliver well. They need to be acquainted with modern teaching systems and we are doing this in all the nine states’

In another three years to come, with you on the driver’s seat, what do you think will happen in the Niger Delta?

In three years’ time, we want to see a Niger Delta that has grown beyond what I will call low Niger Delta. All things being equal, we should be exporting rice rather than importing it. Last year for instance, the Nigerian government imported rice worth $2.8 billion. You can imagine if that money is coming into the Niger Delta and the boost it would give to the national economy. In terms of skills, we are going to have a whole lot of people who now have the requisite skills, skills that are in demand, to provide services in this country and, therefore, grease the wheels of national development. We will begin to see companies that will depend on competent Nigerian skills where Nigerians will build bridges, build houses and get involved in many things. I believe that with planning and cooperation of all the stakeholders in this Niger Delta enterprise, we’ll surely get there. The Commission is ready to make the necessary impact by carrying out development holistically in all departments of human endeavours in the region. God help us!

The socio-economic life of several communities in the Niger Dellta is receiving a boost with the massive electrification projects embarked upon by the Niger Delta Development Commission

In 1928, Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State and perhaps the headquarters of the Niger Delta region, experienced electricity for the first time. That was 32 years after electricity came to Nigeria. However the bulk of the communities in the region were literally in darkness until recently. Ibeno, the crude oil belt of Akwa Ibom State, was one of the unfortunate lot. At least, three interventionist agencies and several governments had come and gone. They all saw no reason for the people of this area, which comprises no fewer than 38 communities, to enjoy power supply. The experience of the people of Tombia, Abonema, Ayibabiri and several other communities in Bayelsa State was also dreadful. Electricity was an amenity they only benefited from when they ventured out of their bases.

However, the story has changed for good, as the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has come to the rescue of these communities. There is light everywhere and the people are rejoicing. So far, more than 339 electrification projects have been undertaken by the commission.

The commission is making use of state-of-the-art technology to generate electricity for the people of the region and it spares no expense in doing so. In Ibeno’s case, which is a 25-kilometre electricity wire line, the commission made use of environmentally friendly technology, the first of its kind in the Niger Delta region. The 36 steel pylons run through a 25 KV-line route of 33kv high tension, using modern fibre glass, cross arms, automatic splicing kits and silicon insulators. The Commission also put in place an additional 200KVA distribution substation meant to serve as power source for the streetlights on the new road and bridge, thereby opening up’ the 38 ‘lost’ communities around the Qua Iboe River. The project, which gulped N363.3 million, serves as feeder line to Iwuochang, Okoro-tip, Opolum and other communities. Already, the effect of this project is being felt, as small and medium-scale enterprises, such as barbershop and hairdressing salons, cold stores and welding shops are springing up.

There are also electrification projects in Ode Etikan, Ondo State; Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State; Ovrode/ Idoni, Delta State; and Etak Ukim, Ikot Hogan and Nsofang, Cross River State, amongst others. As a result of this development, life is picking up in the Niger Delta. And with time, it will get better as NDDC is embarking on new electrification projects from the dense forests of Cross River State to the mountainous groves of Ondo State and the creeks in Bayelsa State.

As it is in Ibeno so it is in other communities where the commission has put an end to the era of electricity being a major problem. The electrification project in Ukwa West, Abia State is a huge electrification scheme which serves as a switch for other electricity projects in the state. It forms the nexus which connects hitherto unconnected communities in very remote parts of the state to the national grid. The other gigantic project is the one covering 42 communities in Rivers and Bayelsa states, traversing about 420 km. It also encompasses 116km of distribution lines and has brought light to several communities which hitherto were in darkness.

Other projects include those sited in Igbokoda Okoga and Umudal, Ondo State; Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State; Ovrode/ Idoni, Delta State; Etak Ukim, Ikot Hogan and Nsofang, Cross River State, among others. The NDDC has also installed a 300kva/0.415kv transformer for Omoikpiriku Community, Elele in Ikwerre Local Government, now relocated to Akabuka in Rivers State.

According to the summary on projects report of the Commission, all the nine states that make up the Niger Delta are beneficiaries of the scheme. Although over 200 electricity projects have been approved and awarded by the commission as at July 2010, about 70 per cent of the projects have been completed while over 23 per cent of them have been commissioned.

However, the statistics show that Akwa Ibom State has the largest number of electricity projects with 46 awarded, 27 completed and 13 commissioned. Although 38 of such projects have been awarded in Abia State, 18 have been completed with two of them commissioned. Delta State has 21 awarded electrification projects – 14 of them have been completed and six of them commissioned. While none of the nine awarded contracts in Imo has been commissioned, three of them have been completed. In Ondo State, out of the nine contracts awarded, only two of them have been completed and commissioned,

Bayelsa and Rivers states each has only two electrification projects awarded with none of them completed or commissioned. Sources in the commission explained that the varying number of projects in a state is determined largely by the priority of the people as expressed by the representatives of such states in the Commission.

In his reaction to the performance of the Commission in the region, Kingsley Kuku, a member of the Ondo State House of Assembly, noted that the NDDC had performed better than similar development agencies in the past, and commended the management of the Commission for the feat so far achieved. He urged the federal government to sustain the tempo, warning that any attempt to politicise the corporate existence of the Commission would “be seen as a collective assault on the status of the people of the region.”

The commission has also been lauded for its commitment to boosting electricity supply in the Niger Delta region. Emeka Uzah, Head, Mechanical Department, Government Craft Development Centre, Port Harcourt, who gave the commendation in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, said that the provision of over 200 transformers to various communities across the nine Niger Delta states was a right step towards addressing the poor power supply situation in the region. He said that without good power supply in the country, the dream of industrial development would remain a mirage, stressing that the NDDC’s gesture would encourage the growth of small-scale enterprises, especially in the local areas.

Uzah, who is also principal works superintendent in the Rivers State Ministry of Local Government Affairs, however, advised the Commission to give priority to the training of technical manpower in view of the high oil exploration activities in the region. “When youths in the region are exposed to technical training, it would be easier for them to get jobs in the numerous multinational oil companies operating in the region”, he said. Apart from providing the youths with means of livelihood, the training, according to him, would go a long way in reducing criminality as they would be engaged in meaningful activities. Uzah urged youths to shun crime and take advantage of NDDC’s lofty programmes to improve their socio-economic well-being. He described Chibuzor Ugwuoha’s leadership of NDDC as one of the best things that have happened to the Commission.

Through a combination of programmes, the Niger Delta Development Commission is turning the Niger Delta into a region that will soon say goodbye to illiteracy

By jibril SADO

Long before the birth of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, in 2000, there had been other government agencies saddled with the task of reforming the Niger Delta area of the country. Notably many of those agencies were bedeviled by criticism for their lack of positive impact in the lives of the people. The people of the area had for years been yearning for a body that will not only help in the physical and infrastructural development of the area, but also contribute directly to the development of human capital through education.

For many followers of developments across the Niger Delta, it is safe to say that the story has now improved significantly with the coming on board of the NDDC. This is because the commission has evidently displayed the desire to be and has been actively involved in developing physical educational infrastructure for educational institutions in the Niger Delta. Till date, the NDDC has undertaken the construction of 686 blocks of classroom, halls and staff quarters in the region. Similarly, it has funded the renovation of as well as completed or rehabilitated 178 classroom blocks, halls and staff quarters across the region. Within this period, the commission has also provided 63,700 standard desks and benches to schools in the region. This is in addition to the fact that many schools in the Niger Delta have benefited from science equipment donated by the NDDC. The supply of these critical educational inputs has in particular, made secondary school education an attractive venture for many of the secondary school-age students in the region who for many years had been content to just sit back and indulge in all forms of frivolity and mischief at the expense of going to school.

The commission has also paid attention to the accommodation needs of students of educational institutions in the region. As a result, the NDDC is currently funding the construction of standard hostels in 14 universities in the region. By estimate, upon completion, each hostel will consist of about 500 standard rooms, complete with basic sanitation facilities.

A part of the Niger Delta region that has received particular attention from the Commission in its efforts at building and developing educational facilities towards making education a pleasurable and gratifying long-term venture to attract students to classrooms are the Ilaje and Ijaw communities in Ondo State. In the 1990s, both communities were locked in prolonged communal strife which rendered them both prostrate. It is widely held that all the 220 communities in the oil-producing area (Ilaje land), including their meager facilities, were razed by the Ijaws, just as the Ijaw-speaking communities were burnt down, although less affected than the Ilaje were. Invariably, educational infrastructures, just like other public facilities, were decimated, to say the least. Consequently, availability of educational facilities in those parts of the Niger Delta has been next to non-existent. This meant that for the NDDC, getting education and facilities to work in the areas concerned was a case of practically starting from the scratch.

But by the middle of 2001, NDDC had mapped out initial ways to help in the speedy rebuilding of the war-ravaged communities as well as rehabilitate the people. Consequently, by 2002, a massive rebuilding and reconstruction of the educational facilities in the communities was commenced by the commission. Starting with the development and building of education projects in both primary and secondary schools, the commission was determined not to leave any stone unturned towards ensuring that school-age children in the areas were not denied the all-important opportunity of getting educated. In the view of the commission, allowing such a situation to develop would be nothing short of a disaster for the children’s future and the well-being of the society. And so the restoration of the schools by the NDDC has, no doubt, paid off, as their children now have the opportunity to acquire knowledge.

To achieve its aim of ensuring education for all, the commission has often had to battle against the odds in a region where building construction of any sort is made more difficult because of the water that covers practically every inch of soil. For instance, the NDDC is at the moment building a school on the very edge of the Atlantic Ocean in Igbokoda community in Ondo State. As perilous as this move may seem, the Commission has had to resort to such method because that part of the community, the only boundary between Igbokada River and the ocean, is the only place where one can find dry land in the area. Therefore, if the children must go to school, the school has to be located on that strip of land. Through such efforts the Ayetoro community in Ilaje Local Government Area now boasts a marine engineering institution, a technical workshop in addition to a primary school as well as a secondary school. And for such audacious efforts, the people of the community have continued to sing the praises of the NDDC because, as one of them noted, “half bread is better than none”.

To further cope with part of the peculiar challenges posed by the riverine communities to the building of physical infrastructure in an area surrounded by water, the commission has embarked on massive construction of foot bridges to help school children get to school with minimum difficulty. It is worthy to note that before this latest intervention, school children in the riverine communities had to paddle their way to school in small canoes. But with the network of bridges which have a terminal point at every school, students now experience less tortuous journey to and from their schools.

Outside of the riverine area, the commission has also been actively involved in providing physical infrastructure, furniture, science equipment and other facilities for educational institutions across the Niger Delta states. And universities and polytechnics have, in addition, received computers, high technical equipment and other audio visual aids, with a view to enhancing effective teaching and learning in the institutions.

A major beneficiary of the NDDC’s efforts in the area of infrastructural development for higher educational institutions is the Delta State University, DELSU, Abraka. At DELSU, the NDDC is currently funding the construction of two hostels for the students of the university. The university is a semi-off campus institution with on-campus accommodation for less than a quarter (only 4,000) of the 25,000 full-time students. This means that majority of the students have been living in private accommodation in Abraka and environs. The construction of the separate male and female hostels will, therefore, go a long way to improving living conditions for students of the university.

The NDDC has also recently started the construction of a road network to link the university with its pre-degree complex at Agbor. The road, which is called Ivie Road, will soon be completed. In the same vein, the commission has also donated two giant generators – 500 KVA each – to supplement power supply on the school’s campus.

The NDDC, through its Quick Impact Project, QIP, is currently working to develop model secondary schools in all the senatorial districts of the Niger Delta. The implication of this is that at the completion of the projects, the nine states in the area would boast of 27 model secondary schools. Indigenes of the areas have commended the Commission for including staff quarters and other facilities in the projects.

Beyond building physical infrastructure to aid the schools, the NDDC has also demonstrated its commitment to deepening the knowledge and academic qualification of graduates from the region. In this regard, starting September 2010, the Commission will sponsor a scholarship programme for up to 200 indigenes of the Niger Delta to pursue masters and doctoral degrees overseas.

The Niger Delta Development Commission is sowing seeds of social and economic empowerment in the Niger Delta region through its many commendable programmes

By toyin CAMPBELL

Sam Awuzie’s face beamed with a huge smile, then loud laughter. He had been asked by the reporter how he felt being one of the 1,920 people who had just completed their training as welders under the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC-sponsored training programme for people desirous of taking up welding as a trade. After a moment’s laughter, Awuzie answered: “I am happy of course. At least now I have a trade to fall back on rather than wait and hope that some miracle with happen to me.”  Although he was grateful to the NDDC for the chance the training has afforded him, Awuzie also declined to have his photograph taken, stating simply: “Let me just enjoy this. I should have grown beyond this by now, but this little is better than not having anything at all.”

The NDDC, as an interventionist agency, has since its inception, not shied away from the fact that although it may not be able to give the Niger Delta people all that they crave, its mantra has always been that something, however small or big, has to be seen to be done to improve the lives of the inhabitants of the oil-rich region. What better way to start, therefore, than empowering the people to be able to fend for themselves and their families rather than to perpetually look on to others for sustenance.

This is something that is not lost on Chibuzor Ugwoha, Managing Director /Chief Executive Officer of the NDDC, who noted: “The major problem of the region is that a whole lot of people have no means of livelihood, largely because they are unskilled, and not because there is no job. Jobs exist, but they do not just fit in. The only way is to build their capacity so that they can participate in the economic activities that are going on around them either in the region or outside of it. And that is what is sadly lacking. Human capacity development and empowerment is a priority for us, for we believe that this is one of the most veritable forces that will complement and bring about a lasting solution to the socio-economic difficulties of the region.”

The training of the 1,920 welders so far, in addition to the recent donation of 15 multi-purpose welding processing equipment as well as a 500 KVA generating set to the Petroleum Training Institute in Warri, are all part of the latest instalment of the commission to empower people in the region. While delivering a speech at the official commencement of the programme tagged: “Train the Trainers”, Ugwoha, stated that the ultimate aim of the Commission was to produce 5,000 professional welders certified by the International Institute of      Welding within the next three years.

The graduands are expected to proceed to the South African Institute of Welding where they will undergo further training in Advanced Welding and Fabrication Programmes. This, the Commission hopes, will provide them with the requisite skills to subsequently help train a larger body of welding apprentices waiting to be trained and employed.

Similarly, by August 2010, the first phase of the NDDC Technical Aid Corps, a scheme designed to tackle the crunching problem of graduate unemployment in the Niger Delta, took off. Under this phase, 2,000 graduates from the nine states of the Niger Delta region, with backgrounds in different academic fields, had been picked as beneficiaries. Out of this number, 120 are from Edo State, while 289 are from Akwa Ibom State. Abia State has 117 beneficiaries, Bayelsa State, 240; Cross River, 120; and Delta State, 214. Imo State has 120 beneficiaries, just as graduates from Ondo State (176) and Rivers State (310) will also benefit from the scheme.

The event, which took place simultaneously in all the Niger Delta states in the first week of August, is a step by the NDDC to deploy the teaming unemployed graduates in the region to boost the manpower needs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), educational institutions and other organizations, especially in the Niger Delta. As explained by the Commission’s boss, the idea behind the scheme is to provide fresh graduates with experience so that they could work and build their curriculum vitae and be able to get better jobs or become entrepreneurs. The system is expected to operate in such a way that it will be cost effective to prospective employers of the graduates while also being a gratifying vehicle in the long and short term for the applicants.

In what is a demonstration of the urgent need for such measures in the region, 57,000 applicants reportedly applied for the NDDC scheme, out of which only 15,000 met the requirements for the facility. At the launch, Ugwoha had noted that the unexpectedly large number of applicants “underscores the urgent need for all stakeholders in the region to join hands and design solutions to reduce the army of jobless graduates in the region”.

The NDDC also has a micro–credit scheme through which a total of 8,500 beneficiaries – rural women and youths alike – are expected to benefit from the first phase of the disbursement to the tune of N1 billion. The funds for the take-off of this phase of the scheme are expected to be released by the third week of September 2010

Furthermore, officials of local government councils in the Niger Delta recently benefited from the empowerment programme of the commission, with a two-day workshop on capacity building for council chairmen, heads of personnel management, secretaries and treasurers in Cross River State. The workshop was designed to empower the participants to acquire a better understanding of the Regional Development Master Plan of the NDDC, ensure good governance and strategic planning at the grassroots level as well as enable the officials adopt best practices in their accounting and budgetary procedures. At the workshop, papers were presented on good governance, strategic planning, budgeting and partnership as well as the implementation strategies of the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan.

Already, such efforts have won the commission plaudits from some quarters in the region. The governor of Cross River State, Liyel Imoke, commended the NDDC for its efforts, especially in the area of human capacity building and empowerment of the people of the region. Similarly, the Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has declared his administration’s unwavering support for the work of the Commission in Edo State. He also called on the people of the state not to subscribe to the destabilising influence of mischief-makers who continue to peddle negative stories about the NDDC in the state and beyond.

More important though, given the zeal with which the NDDC has so far approached the issue of empowerment of the people of the region which represents the nation’s honeypot, it may suffice to say that, from all indications, the Commission has been relentless in sowing the seeds of economic and social empowerment in the region.

By Chibuzor Ugwoha

It would be recalled that during the formal inauguration of our top class welding Train-the-Trainers programme recently in Warri, I promised that the Technical Aid Corps, NTAC, programme, a strategic and innovative stride aimed at deploying the teaming unemployed graduates in the region to boost the manpower needs of Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs, educational institutions and other organizations, will be flagged off in the first week of August.

This august occasion, taking place today, August  3, 2010, therefore marks the fulfilment of that solemn promise.   As I speak, I want to note with delight that all around the nine states of the Niger Delta Region, this programme is simultaneously taking off with some 2000 graduates of tertiary institutions as beneficiaries.   What this means in simple terms is that from today, the NDDC has successfully intervened in the suffocating unemployment situation in the region by adding 2000 jobs.   This, indeed, is a significant right step in the right direction.

The pilot phase of this programme which we are flagging off today began with advertisement in national newspapers which recorded an unbelievable response of more than 57,000 applicants across the region.  Out of this number, more than 15,000 applicants met our entry requirements.  This at once underscores the urgent need for all stakeholders in the region to join hands and design solutions to reduce the army of jobless graduates and avert some unpleasant consequences that may be lurking around the corner.

For us in the NDDC, the benefits of this programme are many.  First, we aim to provide transitory employment for the teeming unemployed graduates with specialized skills and backgrounds in finance, accounting, engineering, ICT, medical sciences, law, marketing, communications, foreign languages and science education. Secondly, we aim to deploy them as skilled manpower to SMEs at cheaper cost.  We envisage that SMEs such as micro-finance institutions, private schools, private hospitals, supermarkets, fast food outlets, construction and manufacturing firms, etc, that cannot afford the high cost of qualified and skilled manpower to grow their businesses, will jump at this programme, as NDDC will pay each NTAC beneficiary an allowance of N30,000.00 per month while the benefiting SME will pay a minimum token of N15,000.00 only per month, making a total of N45,000.00.

In other words, a private nursery school which has been making do with a School Certificate holder as a teacher on a salary of N15,000.00 a month, will now be able to employ a University graduate at the same salary because the NDDC will supplement the graduate’s income with N30,000.00.  The gains in terms of service delivery and growth of the business are wide-ranging and far-reaching.  Within the two years of the programme’s life, each NTAC employee would have gained adequate experience to enable him or her to migrate to greener pastures.

To this extent, the scheme will provide a pool of employable graduates for the real sector of the economy with attendant multiplier effects, including the enhancement of purchasing power of the hitherto unemployed graduates.  The added advantage of this scheme is that the recruited graduates will first be made to go through a one-month re-orientation programme on work ethics, civic education and basic computer appreciation in relevant workplace applications such as Peachtree, AutoCAD, etc.

Under the broad theme of economic development, the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan has identified unemployment and youth restiveness as some of the grave challenges facing the region.    The NDDC Technical Aid Corps programme will, therefore, in the short to medium terms, help to alleviate the unemployment situation in the region and thereby strengthen the growth of SMEs to their full potential and inflate the economy of the region.  This will in effect create wealth and reduce social vices in the region.

I, therefore, appeal to the lucky beneficiaries of the pilot phase of this programme to take full advantage of this opportunity to positively reorder their future.  I expect all participants who will be carrying NTAC identity cards and flying the flag of the NDDC to be good ambassadors so that the Commission will continue to have good reasons to sustain the programme for the benefit of other unemployed graduates.

May I also appeal to all NTAC employers to create a conducive atmosphere for optimal performance of the NDDC ‘Corpers.’   That way, the noble intention of using this programme to build the capacities of the Niger Delta youths for self-development will be achieved.

Another human capacity programme that is designed for unemployed graduates by the NDDC is the Graduate Computer Training.  It is aimed at enhancing the employability of unemployed graduates by adding ICT skills and international certification to their present competencies.  We are already undergoing the rigorous selection process for this programme which will be rolled out by the second week of October.

Let me say that the NDDC is doing everything within its mandate to build capacity of youths to enable them participate in the socio-economic development of the region.  This weekend, in far away South Africa, a total of 25 youths sponsored by the NDDC will graduate with international certification from the South African Institute of Welding (SAIW), Johannesburg.  They will form the bedrock of our professional welding instructors who will be saddled with the responsibility of training a new generation of cutting-edge welding professionals that are in short supply in the oil and gas industry.

Similarly, the NDDC micro-credit programme, which has been restructured to extend credit facility to persons that went through our various skills acquisition programmes, will take off in a few weeks from now.  We expect that the first set of disbursements will be released by the third week of September.  Our work plan for the accomplishment of this programme is being followed to the letter by our Commercial and Industrial Development Directorate.  A total of 8,500 youths will benefit from the first phase of this scheme for which one billion naira has already been deposited in 10 commercial banks for disbursement.

At the same time, NDDC is collaborating with the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) to train 250 youths of the region in different maritime skills.  The programme will definitely prepare participants to readily take up jobs in the ever-growing maritime industry.  Similarly, the Commission, in partnership with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, is also embarking on the training of 100 Niger Delta youths outside the shores of the country in various maritime skills.

I wish to also mention that yet another training programme in collaboration with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, UNITAR, to equip our youths with oil and gas related skills, including underwater welding – is being currently worked out.  In fact, the selection process for the training which will take place in Norway, world leaders in deep sea operations, is at advanced stage.

The Management of the Commission is conscious of the shortage of technical skills in the region and the associated unemployment problem it has created.  This is precisely why the NDDC is frantically seeking partners in all directions to address this problem.  And I am happy to announce that in addition to what already exists, the Commission is into a fresh arrangement with UNITAR and oil companies in the region to develop, build and equip a world-class technological centre, to be known as National Technological Centre (NATEC), to ensure local production of relevant technological skills.

In concluding this address, I would like to call on not just the beneficiaries of the NTAC programme but all the youths in the region to follow the path of peace and take advantage of the opportunities being offered by the NDDC and the Federal Government to achieve the best not only for themselves and the region but for our dear country, Nigeria.

*Speech delivered by Mr. Chibuzor  Ugwoha, Managing Director/CEO of NDDC, at the flag-off of the NDDC Technical Aid Corps, NTAC, programme, held simultaneously in the nine Niger Delta states on August 3, 2010.

For many graduates, one thing that stands in between them and gainful employment is the request by employers for years of experience as a prerequisite. The Niger Delta Development Commission has come up with a novel idea to bridge this gap, which has made many jobless

By Winnie OBUNDE

One of the novel programmes introduced in the last one year by Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, is the technical aid corps.  With this scheme, the NDDC is bridging the gap between many graduates and gainful employment. It is known as NDDC Technical Aid Corps, NTAC.

All over the country, the mere fact that someone has successfully completed his university education is not a guarantee for employment. In spite of this worrisome situation, graduates are facing a new challenge – that of employers asking them to provide proof of previous experience on the job. That is why many of them have been stuck since graduation. But that is about to change, especially for the indigenes of the Niger Delta region.

The NDDC’s strategy for dealing with this challenge is the NTAC. The idea is to provide fresh graduates with experience so that they could work and build their curriculum vitae and be able to get better jobs or become entrepreneurs. In an interview with The Capitol, Chibuzor Ugwoha, the helmsman at the NDDC, stated that 2,000 participants have already been recruited for the first phase of the programme which took off in August this year. “Human capacity development and empowerment remain our priority. We believe that this is one of the most veritable forces that will bring about a lasting solution to the socio-economic difficulties of the region” Ugwoha said.

In a related scheme, the NDDC is funding training programmes in areas such as welding, carpentry, farming and so on so that people who did not go to school will still have ways to keep body and soul together. Through this, the commission has trained about 5,000 people. Well over 2,000 welders have been trained by the Commission under its Human Capacity Development and Empowerment Programme, just as the Commission has donated 15 multi-purpose welding processing equipment and a 500 KVA generating set to the Petroleum Training Institute, Warri. Graduands of its train-the-trainers’ scheme have also been trained in South Africa for advanced welding and fabrication programme.

Out of the more than 700 youths who applied for the international welding course, 25 of them were shortlisted and were trained both in Nigeria and South Africa. Twenty-four of them were successful and internationally certificated. This means that the 24 are internationally recognized and they can practise anywhere in the world. In Nigeria, there are only 38 internationally certified welders, including the 24 trained by NDDC. This is a good success story that has a multiplier effect on the development of the region and is curbing youth restiveness. They are to train the large pool of welding apprentices waiting to be trained and employed in the various sectors of the economy, particularly the oil and gas.

Ugwoha said the Commission’s target was to produce 5,000 professional welders certified by the International Institute of Welding in the next three years.”We will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the Niger Delta youths acquire necessary cutting edge skills and education that will give them the competitive advantage, especially in the oil and gas sector of the economy that the region is naturally endowed,” he said.

In collaboration with the Cross River State government, the commission has established hatchery to produce day-old chicks and encourage poultry farming. In Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom states, it has built a processing plant at Elele to boost rice production so that within a short time, the region will not only be known for oil production but also for rice production. It is acquiring land from all the states to establish the rice project. All things being equal, the region should be exporting rice rather than importing in a few years’ time.

The Federal Government expended N2.8 billion in importing rice in 2009 alone  “You can imagine if that money is coming into the Niger Delta and the boost it would give to the national economy,” said the NDDC helmsman. It is also training youths in drilling engineering, with the company handling the training ready to employ some of them immediately after the training. The company has also promised to help seek jobs for the remaining ones. Significantly, starting from September 2010, a scholarship programme has been put in place for about 200 Niger Deltans to pursue masters and doctoral degree programmes in the sciences overseas. It is believed that this will challenge Niger Delta youths in the universities to work harder.

With time, NTAC will go a long way in helping to reduce the army of unemployed, skilled and unskilled, who parade the streets and creeks of the Niger Delta, with many of them involved in activities that have brought the region into public ridicule.