Chairman of the NDDC Governing Board, Mr Chiedu Ebie (right), and the NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku (left), with the son of the late Chief Albert Horsfall, Donald (middle), during a condolence visit to the family of the pioneer Chairman of the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC), at his residence in Lagos.
The Governing Board and Management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) have paid tribute to the late pioneer Chairman of the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC), Chief Albert Horsfall, describing his leadership as foundational to the institutional development of the Niger Delta.
A statement signed and issued by Seledi Thompson-Wakama, Director, Corporate Affairs of the commission said the NDDC Chairman, Mr Chiedu Ebie, and the Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, led a delegation of the Commission on a condolence visit to the Horsfall family at the deceased’s residence in Lagos.
Ebie, who commiserated with the family on behalf of the Board and Management, described Horsfall as a distinguished Nigerian whose contributions extended beyond the Niger Delta to the broader development of the country.
He particularly acknowledged the late OMPADEC chairman’s purposeful leadership and his role in establishing an institutional framework for government intervention in the development of oil-producing communities across the Niger Delta.
According to him, Horsfall’s tenure at OMPADEC represented an important chapter in the evolution of organised intervention in the region, with his contributions leaving an enduring legacy.
Ogbuku also described the deceased as a pioneering figure whose contributions would remain an important part of the history of the Niger Delta.
He said the people of the region would continue to remember Horsfall for the foundation he laid at OMPADEC and his contribution to the emergence and evolution of institutions established to address the development needs of the Niger Delta.
Before his appointment as OMPADEC chairman, Horsfall had built a distinguished career in Nigeria’s intelligence and security services.
He was a pioneer member of the Nigeria Security Organisation (NSO), later served as the pioneer Director of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), and subsequently became the second Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS).
The NDDC delegation expressed condolences to the Horsfall family, praying that God would grant them the strength to bear the loss and grant the deceased eternal rest.