We all would agree that the Federal Government of Nigeria, has to a large extent, within the past 15 years, demonstrated its commitment towards paying special attention to the Niger Delta region’s development, by establishing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Niger Delta Ministry, plus other established Development Intervention Commissions/Agencies by State governments of the region. There is also the 13 per cent derivation revenue from the Federal Government and the Amnesty programme for militants who are willing to drop their arms, embrace the offer, get rehabilitated and reintegrated back into the society. All of which are aimed at consolidating a peaceful co-existence for intended development initiatives to thrive. But despite all of these efforts, the Niger Delta region is still one of the most underdeveloped regions in Africa and indeed the world. If the funds voted for/allocated/budgeted via all these stated channels/government agencies and the government itself were actually utilized for the purposes they were meant for, we are very certain that there will not be anything like militancy and youth restiveness in the region.
For the purpose of driving home our point, we have decided to focus more on the NDDC as established channel intended by the Federal Government for the development of the Niger Delta area.
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was established under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in the year 2000 with the mission of facilitating even-rapid development in the Nigeria Delta geo-political region. But it has become obvious that the commission is working below expectation, as it has failed to bring aggressive development into the Niger Delta region. This has made many well-meaning Nigerians to see the commission as waste. We recall how former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014, worried by its high rate of uncompleted projects, ordered the NDDC to stop awarding new contracts until the completion of all the abandoned ones.
While this move would have only been meaningful if Jonathan had walked his talk, for talk is cheap, but action, weighty; it clearly shows how the NDDC is very good at embarking in projects that will benefit some power brokers and new projects that will guarantee more funds being misappropriated. Too often in the past, Nigerian past President had noted such anomalies in governance without following through on how to complete such abandoned projects. For instance, the effects of the former President Jonathan Federal Government’s 11,886 projects valued at N7.7 trillion abandoned after contractors had collected N2.6 trillion mobilization funds, are dispiritingly clear.
It is sad to note how the NDDC, also embark on projects that do not necessarily benefit host communities’ locals of the Niger Delta region, but often times, such projects are engaged to benefit some personal interests power brokers and those in government circles. This was how we are baffled that the NDDC is still busy constructing roads in the a controversial Federal Government Land in New Ugboroke Layout, Effurun-Warri for ‘illegal occupants’ of the place, whereas, the main Ugboroke Layout ‘entrance road’ leading to the same area (which is a government-approved road), is left in a deplorable state with countless pot holes and damaged tarmac that are daily making life miserable for motorists and other road users. One then begins to wonder why the NDDC would be encouraging such ‘lawlessness’ (of the illegally acquired Federal Government Land), with its road construction actions.
The above stated directive to the NDDC by former President Jonathan is just a poignant reminder of how the organization, which was set up by the NDDC Act (2000) No. 6, has lost so much ground in fulfilling its mandate. Established with the ‘mission of facilitating the rapid, even and sustainable development of the Niger Delta…,’ the commission has been anything but up and doing. Instead of carrying out its mandate of alleviating the grave conditions in the nine oil-producing states of the region, the NDDC, just like its precursor – Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC) – has scored dismally in its performance ratings. “If you aggregate the total amount of money the Federal Government has spent on [the] agency,” the former President once lamented, “it is enormous and I don’t believe, on the ground, that we have something to show (for it) very clearly.’ Today, the agency is defined by corruption on a large scale.
In fact, it is no news that the NDDC has been performing below expectation. Its breathtaking incompetence and unconscionable waste are captured in media reports stating that the projects abandoned by the commission over the years will cost N1.4 trillion to complete. Contrary to the claim that it has taken giant strides to facilitate the all-round development of the Niger Delta region and its people, former President Jonathan reportedly queried the commission for abandoning 285 projects. An enquiry discovered that the projects were abandoned between 2005 and2011, with other anomalies headlining the report. One of those incongruities is the discovery that the NDDC management had at one time awarded a contract for the renovation of a privately-owned club in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
With an annual average budget of N250 billion since 2010 (and an average of about N100 billion annually from inception), the commission has made a very poor return on the investment poured into it. The NDDC has become notorious for shoddy and late budget preparations. For example, it presented its N316 billion 2013 budget to the National Assembly only in November same year. Worse, the budget is for only eight months. In September 2012, when it presented its 2012 budget of N250 billion to the Senate, parliamentarians castigated it for lateness. To show the self-serving nature of the NDDC Management, the office of one of its former Managing Directors received a budgetary vote of N529.2 million for 2010, while one former Chairman of the agency allegedly paid out more than N800 million to a native doctor in a fetish deal.
While the performance of the NDDC is highly condemnable and cannot be excused, given the role it is expected to play in addressing the long years of neglect in the nine states under its purview, it is instructive to note that the failure is part of a wider national malaise of incompetence and plunder. The immediate past Presidency and the Parliament are as well guilty of this negligence, which should not be, considering the infrastructure deficit plaguing the region. But the interventionist agency’s depressing scorecard depicts a larger national malaise.
Recently, a report revealed that the Niger Delta Development Commission awarded a total of 8,557 infrastructure development projects valued at N2.4 trillion between 2001 and March 18, 2016. This was contained in the 2016 first quarterly report of the commission by its Acting Managing Director, Ibim Semenitari, in Abuja recently. The report said 3,454 projects worth N441 billion were completed out of the total number of contracts awarded within the period. It said the projects were awarded in the areas of roads, bridges, jetty and shore protection, canalization and reclamation, electricity and power, water and buildings, food control and equipping and furnishing. The report said: “Of the total number of infrastructure projects awarded, about 250 are regarded as mega projects, that is projects with cost ranging from N500 million to N24 billion. There are 2,257 ongoing projects totaling N1.2 trillion in value, while 292 others worth N81 billion were either stalled or abandoned.During the period under review, the commission terminated a total number of 49 projects valued at N1.9 billion.Other agencies of government took over 29 projects with a total contract sum of N16 billion from the NDDC.”
With the above analysis in mind, we would now understand why the present Muhammadu Buhari administration did not hesitate to sack NDDC Board members some few months back. Though, the said NDDC Board members were reported to have approached the Judiciary to have their sack reversed by President Muhammadu Buhari because, according to them, the law setting them up bars him from taking a unilateral action to send them home, however, we find it rather appalling that the NDDC board are not even ashamed to come forth and make such demands and noise regarding their removal from office when the Commission it is heading has been a cesspool of corruption with not much to show forth in terms of achievements despite the huge funds that comes into their coffers. It is even funny that they were comparing their right to the board membership to that of the anti-graft agencies, and therefore should not be touched. For us, we believe the President acted in the best interest of the nation by ‘cleaning the NDDC board’ off the rot that has eaten deep into its existence. We also believe that no member of the NDDC board should be left to remain no matter the reason behind it. The truth is that, no responsible and serious-minded government would sit down, fold its hands and allow the sort of rot that is evident in the NDDC to remain unchanged.
Before now, there were reports that several petitions have been fired to the Presidency to move against the said NDDC board and urgently launch a full scale probe into the operations and finances of the NDDC, whose contractual obligations now stand at a frightening N800 billion as of the end of July 2015. The debt is said to have risen exponentially following the award of frivolous and politically-motivated contracts to individuals and groups by the sacked board in the run-up to the last election. One of the petitions now before the Presidency and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was written by Niger Delta Stakeholders Forum (NIDESTAF). In the petition dated June 15, 2015 and signed by the President, Benson George will and National Secretary, Timi Oghalle, the stakeholders pleaded with President Buhari to urgently raise a probe panel to ascertain the true position of the finances of the NDDC. The group also asked the President to take steps to retrieve the funds of the Commission from those found to have illegally taken them.
With this at the back of our mind, we are therefore surprised that the same NDDC board is now going to court to seek redress of their sack. In a civilized society where public office holders truly understand the demands of their offices and the need to act responsibly and accountably, the best line of action is to quietly resign, especially when the body one is working for is found wanting and engrossed in corrupt practice. And if one is sacked, one should take it in good faith and move on, rather than running to the court to question one’s removal. The NDDC, despite being a development-oriented commission that has received billions of funds since its inception, has not really made its presence felt in the Niger Delta region. Which leaves us to ask, where has all the money been going to?
It is no news that the NDDC, instead of being a commission that improves the lives of the people of the Niger Delta region, has been a conduit pipe that misappropriates public funds into private pockets. In fact, stakeholders in the country have recently posited that, in pursuit of his anti-graft crusade, President Muhammadu Buhari may have to beam his searchlight on the activities of the NDDC. If the findings and documents made public recently in some reports are anything to go by, the NDDC is panning out as a cesspool of corruption. The documents indicate that the agency, which is being supervised by the Presidency through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, has brazenly ignored the provisions of the Public Procurement Act (PPA), in the award of contracts for projects and services, thereby allowing its cronies to smile home with huge amounts of public funds.
The 2007 PPA sets limits on contracts that key officials of the commission can award; what the board can approve; what should be sent to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), and what the Federal Executive Council should handle, in the spirit of transparency and accountability. Under the PPA, the Managing Director of the NDDC, can award contracts that are not above N200 million, while the board can approve jobs that are not above N1 billion. Specifically, any job above N1 billion must be subjected to a competitive bidding process and awarded by the FEC after being processed by the BPP, another agency under the Presidency. However, findings show that the NDDC management has chosen to use contract-splitting as a weapon to award huge contracts beyond its limit without passing through the BPP, thereby making it possible for ‘insiders and their associates,’ particularly influential political elements, to make away with billions of Naira from the Commission.
The report revealed that the Commission under the said ex-board, appeared to have ignored former President Goodluck Jonathan’s directive to it not to award new contracts, but to strive to complete abandoned ones so as to clear the backlog of funds being owed local contractors. Contrary to the Presidential directive, the said board embarked on ‘contract bazaar’ within the first two weeks of its inauguration actively acquiring even second-hand exotic vehicles at the cost of new ones. Documents revealed in the report showed that within its first two weeks the managing director single-handedly issued a Local Purchasing Order (LPO), valued at N888, 175,500 million to a Port Harcourt-based car dealer to supply 40 assorted vehicles. Of the vehicles ordered, four were armoured Sport Utility Lexus and Land-cruiser vehicles valued at N213.8 million. It is not clear when the vehicles were supplied and who is using them. Shortly after the acquisition of the expensive vehicles, the Commission ordered the procurement of security vehicles for the Nigeria Police at the cost of N12.5 billion to enable the police provide adequate security for the nine Niger Delta States of Abia, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Bayelsa, Rivers, Edo, Delta, Edo and Ondo.
However, to prevent the huge contract from getting to the BPP and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for scrutiny and approval, the Commission carefully split the supply job into 12 slots and awarded it at the cost of N985 million to each of the contractors. Not done, the NDDC shortly after awarded another contract worth N2.7b to 30 limited liability companies suspected to be owned by close associates of key officials for what it called “Intelligence-gathering and management.” Each of the 30 firms got N99.7 million from the NDDC for the job which should have been handled by the security agencies. The contract bazaar was quickly followed by another award of N1.6 billion job carefully split among 85 companies for the ‘procurement, transportation and delivery’ of waste disposal trucks to the commission. Each of the ‘lucky’ contractors were said to have gotten between N61 million to N835 million, depending on the strength of their connections with the top hierarchy of the agency and influential politicians managing the Commission.
The ‘contract bazaar’ has even led to some disagreement between the board and some accounting/procurement officials. In one very despicable case, the commission ignored the professional audit query/advice not to award a ‘Quick-impact’ job valued at N715 million to one person to act as both contractor and consultant. But the trouble is currently brewing in the commission following the resolve of some aggrieved management staff and top officials to expose the rot in the establishment, leading to the release of financial malfeasance that has been going on in the place since the last board was inaugurated in November, 2013. One of the documents indicate that the sum of N1.3 billion was approved and released for NDDC Christian Fellowship and NDDC Children and Disable families end-of-the-year parties. While the Christian Fellowship reportedly received N500 million, the NDDC children and disable families got N800 million. The commission is also said to have inexplicably moved the sum of N100 billion from its Access Bank account on Agip Road branch to an undisclosed location, in the heat of the last election, in which Buhari won thereby raising eyebrow among staff and stakeholders.
We can still recall in 2012 when the EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, disclosed that investigations showed that NDDC officials connived with contractors to misappropriate billions of Naira meant for projects and programmes execution. The EFCC Chief said due to such practices, contracts were often awarded to the wrong contractors with the aim to sub-let same contracts afterwards. He also revealed that some contracts were not awarded for the benefit of the people, but for the purpose of embezzling public funds. Lamorde then urged contractors not to allow government officials to use them to steal public funds, saying: “If you do, we will arrest and prosecute you and your accomplices.” The EFCC Chairman also disclosed that the Federal Government would recruit World Bank officials to vet all Federal Government Contracts in order to reduce corruption in the public procurement system. “When done, nothing will be procured by the Federal Government unless it bears the team’s (Word Bank officials) stamp of approval.”
It is rather unfortunate that corrupt practices of high proportions have taken over the noble-intended activities of the NDDC. It is appalling that officials of the NDDC have decided to allow ‘greed’ and self-centered interests to overtake their conscience to the detriment of the common man. Inflation of contracts, encouraging kick-backs and bribery, contracts awarded not on the basis of merit, and so on, have become the order of the day in the NDDC, Contracts are awarded not for the common good of all but to satisfy the stomachs of some few. Rather than meeting the developmental yearnings of the Niger Delta people, the NDDC and its officials and contractors are more interested in increasing the size of their bank accounts.
We have said it many times that the NDDC has not been able to do a quarter of what is expected of them in meeting the needs of the Niger Delta region. The NDDC has not only failed to achieve the aims and objectives for which it was established in the first place, but it has also transfigured itself to being a ‘conduit pipe’ for wasting public funds. It is on record that the NDDC, since its inception, has been receiving huge amount of funds contributed by IOCs. For instance, it has been reported that major IOCs like the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) is contributing three percent of its annual budget to the NDDC as part of its Social Responsibilities toward the development of the Niger Delta region. Similar contributions are done by other IOCs. And these are funds running into billions of Naira. Regrettably, the NDDC has not been able to translate these funds, plus that provided by the Federal Government’s purse, to physically bear on and positively impact considerably, the host communities of the Niger Delta region.
Almost on a yearly basis, the NDDC budget is increased subsequently, including the funds coming from the contributions by the IOCs. But yet, the evidence of these contracted funds are readily not seen in terms of physical projects and are never accounted for, not to the IOCs to the best of our knowledge, nor to the people of the Niger Delta region. One is often forced to ask; what then has the NDDC being doing with all the funds coming into its coffers. It is not enough to have some few projects here and there and they exclaim that billions have been expended. The question is; has the Commission been able to regularly and judiciously account for every penny that comes into its purse? Does all the present executed projects of the NDDC since its inception, correspond to all the funds yearly coming into it from the government purse and IOCs?
It is also funny that both the past and present Managers, Directors and Board members of the NDDC, are all Niger Deltans. In other words, the commission is being run by our own brothers and sisters. Yet, they have not been able to deliver the responsibilities that were given to them. In fact, except Mr. Emene, there is hardly anyone who has ever been appointed as NDDC Director for instance, that does not come out as an ‘overnight billionaire’. It is obvious that we, as Niger Deltans, are not ready to honestly develop the region.
However, we strongly believe the Niger Delta area can actually develop in all ramifications without the NDDC. It all boils down to having the “will” and “commitment” of the various State Governments of the Niger Delta and their Local Government Councils, and of course, inclusive of the Federal Government cooperation. We believe that if the Niger Delta Areas are part and parcel of Nigeria, then it does not require a ‘special Commission’ or ‘Ministry’ to see to its development. What has now made the region a ‘special case’ is as a result of the countless years of neglect that has left the Niger Delta, especially the natural environment, in a state of disrepair. But with all of these so called ‘special commissions’ and a Ministry, we are only creating avenues for people to feed fat from public funds meant for the development of the region. Other States in the country got to their level of development without any special commission, ministry or body of whatever. The Niger Delta region can also fair better in this direction.
If all the public funds ever voted/budgeted for in the NDDC, Niger Delta Ministry and all the other State Intervention Development agencies, plus the State revenue allocations, etc, were judiciously implemented with all sincerity of purpose; we are very certain that by now, there will not be any word like ‘riverine and creek areas’ used to describe most parts of the Niger Delta region. Today most so called riverine areas like Ogulagha, Frocados Escravos areas are still unaccessibly by roads. If our political leaders in Government have been sincere in utilizing the funds meant for the Niger Delta region, we believe by now we would have witnessed the development of all the riverine/coastal regions/areas of the region into “tourist attraction spots” and Sea Ports like we have in Singapore, some parts of London like Maritime Greenwich, North Greenwich, and south bank centre areas that are practically built around rivers. But are today tourist spots for foreign attraction. Liverpool in England was a maritime city, but today it is no longer like that because of the level of development. Even the whole of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, as well as the Houses of Parliament in Central London are all built around rivers but when you go to these places you can hardly tell they were built on and surrounded by water. Today, most parts of the Niger Delta region are still referred to as creeks and riverine areas.
The Niger Delta Governors have over the years, been characterized with all manner of “corrupt practices” and “abuse of public office” with reckless abandon and impunity. In other words, those in different strata of Federal and State government circles have used different means in the name of developing the Niger Delta areas to misappropriate and mismanage public funds through the NDDC. What then are we saying, not until we stop all these dilly-dallying and cut to the chase by telling ourselves the hard truth and readjust our ways in addressing developmental issues evident in the Niger Delta, we will remain underdeveloped in the midst of enormous natural and human resourcefulness.
We therefore urge the Federal Government and relevant anti-graft agencies concerned not to leave any stone unturned in exposing and prosecuting those found wanting to have misappropriated funds meant for the development of the Niger Delta region through the NDDC, no matter who or what is involved. The truth is, if all the funds that have gone into the NDDC since its inception have been judiciously used for the purpose they were meant for, the Niger Delta region will be like the Dubia of Africa by now. It is high time we start holding our leaders accountable, especially those in the NDDC as officials. There should be no more ‘praise singing’. It is time to start doing things the right way. This we urge.
, JP.
National Coordinator
