NDDC attributes gains to Tinubu’s leadership, pushes for continuity

The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Samuel Ogbuku, has credited the Commission’s recent achievements to what he described as the transformational leadership of President Bola Tinubu, saying it has brought stability to the intervention agency.

Ogbuku spoke at a three-day retreat organised by the Ministry of Regional Development for regional development commissions in Benin City, where he emphasised the need for leadership continuity to sustain development and prevent the abandonment of projects.

He noted that between 2015 and 2023, the NDDC had nine managing directors, a situation he said created instability and slowed progress. According to him, assurances from the President that the current board would complete its four-year tenure would help consolidate ongoing reforms and projects.

“Mr President has charged us to complete all legacy projects for the benefit of the people of the Niger Delta region,” Ogbuku said.

The NDDC boss also commended the Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh, for providing administrative and technical support to the Commission.

Highlighting ongoing infrastructure efforts, Ogbuku said the Commission was leveraging Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) to deliver major projects, including the Kaa-Ataba Bridge in Rivers State, which he said is expected to be completed in July in collaboration with Nigeria LNG Limited.

He also listed the 29-kilometre Bonny Ring Road with nine bridges as another flagship PPP project, alongside the 70.75-kilometre Omadino-Okerenkoko-Escravos Road and bridges in Delta State, being executed in partnership with the state government and Chevron Nigeria Limited.

Ogbuku recalled that the Commission commissioned five projects across Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Edo and Ondo states in May 2024. These included road networks, bridges and electricity infrastructure such as the Obehie-Oke-Ikpe Road in Abia State, the Ogbia-Nembe Road in Bayelsa State, and a 33/11KV electricity substation in Edo State.

He added that in February 2025, the Commission inaugurated the Abraka-Oben Road in Delta State and flagged off the reconstruction of the Abraka-Agbor Road.

According to him, more projects are ready for commissioning, including a 750-bed hotel complex at the Niger Delta University in Amassoma.

On institutional reforms, Ogbuku said the Commission had developed a corporate governance framework and begun implementing a Governance Advisory Report to enhance transparency and restore credibility.

“We are committed to restoring credibility through transparency,” he said.

The NDDC chief also disclosed that the Commission had released N5 billion as counterpart funding to the Niger Delta Chambers of Commerce Industry Trade Mines and Agriculture to support youth entrepreneurship and economic development in the region.

He said nearly 980,000 youths had been registered in the Commission’s database, with several training programmes already underway, including the training of 500 youths in compressed natural gas (CNG) autogas conversion in Akwa Ibom State.

At the retreat, the Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, Jobson Ewalefoh, advocated the use of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to improve service delivery and infrastructure financing.

In a paper on alternative funding sources, Ewalefoh stressed that Nigeria’s large infrastructure deficit made PPP arrangements essential for sustainable development.

Also speaking, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, highlighted the importance of proper application of public service rules.

“The strength of public service is not measured by the number of rules, but by the quality of their application,” she said.