By Jerome-Mario Utomi

This piece stemmed from my recent conversation/encounter with Honourable Udengs Eradiri, former President, of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), former Commissioner for Youth Development, former Commissioner for Environment in Bayelsa state and Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in the 2023 governorship election in Bayelsa state. The encounter took place during the recently held Niger Delta Summit 2024, organized by Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State Capital.

Beginning with the assessment of the present governing board and management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Honourable Udengs described the present board and management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as among the most disciplined board the Commission has ever had, noting that this is the first time the people of the region are not hearing of bickering in NDDC board.

While he thanked His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu for appointing this calibre of people into the Commission’s board and management, the former President of Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC), also stated as follows; I would like to commend the board for what they are doing. Thanks to Mr. President for appointing this kind of people to the board. The first time we’re not hearing bickering on the NDDC board. By this time, one person will be fighting to be lord over the other. I want to especially commend the person of the Managing Director (MD), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, who has demonstrated the capacity to be able to manage various interests. And that’s part of the reason we’re all here. It’s part of managing the interests of the stakeholders.

Eradiri, an Engineer, noted that the Chairman of the Governing Board, Mr. Chiedu Ebie is a decent man and not this ambitious kind of persons who want to bring their ambitions to the board and destroy the focus of the institution, adding that the present board has shown that they understand the issues.

“This NDDC board and management have shown that they understand the issues. But like I said, I’m not surprised because of the kind of people that were appointed. Some of them didn’t even know that they would be on this board. Like when I was talking to the chairman. He didn’t lobby for it. They just announced him. So, for him, it is an opportunity to serve the people. As for the Managing Director, he came from the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), and IYC is a breeding ground for true leadership. That is why anyone that comes out from the IYC, and is picked to manage the public office, you see some difference in the engagement.”

Still, on the capacity to lead, the former Commissioner said; ”The MD is part of us. We were all agitated until NDDC was created. So, if you are put in an agency that you fought for its creation, you must work well. And people like us who know the MD personally know that this board is one of the most disciplined boards NDDC has ever had. Before, by now, you will have heard that the chairman wants to be OGA of everybody. Others will say no, we no go gree. Before you know it, bickering everywhere at the expense of the group.  But that is not the case with the present board and management.”

“As you can see, the Chairman is always leading board members to action. It has never been like this before. For me, this board is one of the best I’ve seen.”

“Under the present board and management, the Niger Delta region is being lit up. The Niger Delta is lit up now. Before, you can’t even walk at night. Everywhere would be dark. No light. Just look at the way they have lit up everywhere. I was flying one day, and I saw the amazing light-ups that you could now see from the skies. It’s nice to see that across the board, there is this even distribution of infrastructures by the NDDC.”

While urging the President to have confidence in this board and management and ensure that all the funds due the commission are released to the agency, the former Commissioner also encouraged Mr President to remove the Commission from TSA to aid efficiency and effectiveness in its performance.

Away from the removal of the Commission from TSA to ensuring the availability of funds for the agency, Idengs has this to say; The NDDC is owed over 2 trillion. The president should give them his support because this leadership is a responsible one. They have shown that they do not have one governorship ambition or the other that usually distracts the board.

Having expressed discipline, I think the president should reward their hard work and commitment to their job by releasing funds to them because we know that those funds will be injected into areas that will affect positively, the lives of the Niger Delta people and make Nigeria a pleasure-filled estate. He, therefore, called on stakeholders to go back home and mobilize support for this NDDC.

Asked about the possibility of the Niger Delta region becoming self-sufficient in food production, Honourable Udengs observed that the Southern part of Nigeria is very fertile but the lands have not been prepared for agriculture and that’s where the intervention agency should come in and ensure that acres of land are cleared across the Niger Delta. Financial aid is made available to farmers, education is given to the farmers on what to do and the market is provided for them to sell their finished produce.

“These are the things that will support agriculture in the Niger Delta. Clear and mechanize the environment, provide access to loans that will support them in farming and a link between the people and the market. That is why we were talking about building agro-villages, villages where people know that if you go there, you buy gaari that is cheap because they can move their goods and process it.”

He stressed that the commission and governors of the state must synergize. The Engineer turned politician further revealed that many years ago, the South-South states governors setup what they referred to as the BRACED Commission – (Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross-river, Edo and Delta) to look at the development of the Niger Delta region.

BRACED, he added, has been in existence for many years. So, what I’m saying is that the government should unite and have a purpose. For now, there’s no purpose. You’re not seeing them support the NDDC other than lip service, you’re not seeing them support the Commission that is supposed to drive economic and infrastructural advancement of the region. They only rule on talk shows. No action. Now, look at the crisis of food in the country. Look at the infrastructural deficit’’.

“The presidency has unbundled power. The Niger Delta has what it takes to generate enough power that can provide 24-hour power beyond Niger Delta. The governors under the BRACED Commission are not even thinking about how to come together and see how they can take advantage of it to create power, make money from it and provide for their citizens. So, the governors of the Niger Delta need to do better than what we’re seeing,” he concluded.

Jerome-Mario Utomi writes from Lagos, Nigeria. He can be reached via [email protected], 08032725374