Former Minister of Petroleum Resources and Foreign Affairs, Henry Odein Ajumogobia, has called for the strengthening of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as the principal agency for coordinating development efforts in the Niger Delta, warning that fragmented governance structures have continued to impede meaningful progress in the oil-rich region.
Speaking as keynote speaker at the NDDC Law and Development Summit in Port Harcourt, Ajumogobia said the commission must be empowered to function as the central coordinating institution among the various agencies, governments and organisations involved in the region’s development.
He lamented that instead of serving as the lead development agency, the NDDC had become merely one of several actors operating within a crowded and poorly coordinated framework.
“Rather than functioning as the central coordinating body, the NDDC has become one layer in a crowded ecosystem where responsibilities are diffuse and unclear. This has produced patterns of duplication in which multiple actors work at cross-purposes while oil-producing communities remain underdeveloped,” he said.
According to him, the challenges confronting the commission are not solely administrative but deeply structural, arising from overlapping mandates among federal institutions, state governments, private sector operators, corporate social responsibility initiatives and other intervention programmes.
Ajumogobia stressed that addressing these institutional bottlenecks was critical to unlocking sustainable development across the Niger Delta.
Also speaking at the summit, Chairman of the NDDC Governing Board, Chiedu Ebie, described the relationship between law and development as fundamental, noting that legal frameworks remain essential tools for economic transformation, environmental sustainability and the protection of citizens’ rights.
He said the summit’s theme, “The Role of Law in Driving Sustainable Development in the Niger Delta,” reflected the urgent realities confronting communities in the region.
“For the people of the Niger Delta, a region whose vast natural wealth has for too long stood in painful contrast to the poverty and neglect of its communities, these are not abstract ideals. They are urgent, lived realities,” Ebie said.
He added that the commission had adopted innovative approaches to navigate development challenges, strengthen governance systems and accelerate project delivery within the ambit of the law.
In his opening remarks, the Managing Director of the NDDC, Samuel Ogbuku, said sustainable development extended beyond physical infrastructure to include economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection.
Ogbuku noted that the current management had embarked on deliberate reforms aimed at repositioning the commission from a transactional institution to a transformational development agency.
According to him, the commission engaged global advisory firm KPMG to review its internal processes and develop new corporate governance policies that now guide its operations.
He disclosed that the NDDC had also overhauled its procurement processes and digitised nearly 90 per cent of its operations to enhance transparency, efficiency and accountability.
“We have implemented mechanisms for contractors and stakeholders to sign and execute contracts electronically from the comfort of their homes and offices, with minimal physical contact,” he said.
The managing director explained that the summit was convened to explore ways of strengthening the legal and institutional frameworks necessary for the commission to sustain ongoing reforms and deepen development interventions across the Niger Delta.
Earlier, Director of Legal Services at the NDDC, Victor Arenyeka, said the summit was designed to provide a platform for policymakers, legal practitioners, development experts, traditional institutions, civil society groups and other stakeholders to examine how law, governance, accountability and policy implementation could drive sustainable regional transformation.
He noted that as a statutory institution, the activities of the NDDC are governed not only by its Establishment Act but also by several other laws, regulations and policy frameworks that shape its operations and development mandate.
