Experts in the Nigerian oil and gas sector have alluded reasons why the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has continued to fail on its mandate despite receiving massive funding.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the experts alluded the reasons on Friday during a Twitter conference with the theme ‘strategic reforms needed to transfer benefits to the Niger Delta’ that was hosted by the Nigeria Natural Resource Charter (NNRC).
The experts were of the opinion that the NDDC set up in 2000 as an interventionist agency to reduce poverty and foster development in the Niger Delta is too elitist in nature and that the Commission is far-placed from local communities. Hence, engagement with the Commission was difficult.
“NDDC, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Presidential Amnesty Programme and the constitutionally prescribed 13% derivation were created to positively impact those in the Niger Delta but have failed to do so. Rather than acting as an interventionist agency, NDDC, for example, has become a contract awarding agency that only benefits the elite.
“Projects are not selected or designed in collaboration with communities and so often do not address their concerns. There is duplication of projects between the different agencies because there is a lack of coordination and collaboration between them.
“No external body monitors the impact these institutions have on host communities and so they continue to operate without censure. National Assembly probes usually do not lead to significant changes within the agencies,” said Hauwa Yesufu, Outcome Lead, Local Communities of Facility for Oil Sector Transformation (FOSTER).
Yesufu further stated that “weak policies relating to the management and prevention of oil spills and gas flaring, benefit-sharing mechanisms that have no impact on development in the region and a lack of meaningful consultation with local communities to ensure that their concerns are adequately understood and addressed” are some of the reasons why the government has consistently reported poor performance to adequately manage impacts of extraction on local communities.
“The government has set up numerous mechanisms to support development in the Niger Delta. These are primarily funded by the federal government, while the NDDC is funded by both the government and oil companies. However, they have failed to ensure that communities adequately benefit from natural resource earnings. Local communities continue to face high levels of poverty, violence and environmental damage,” she added.
She stated that the government bears the greatest responsibility for the poor performance of the benefits transfer mechanisms as it is its obligation to provide for social development and infrastructure services, stressing that the government has set up numerous benefit-sharing mechanisms but has failed to properly monitor and ensure their impact.
“Local communities do not hold state and local governments accountable for mismanagement of funds/corruption; instead, focusing their anger on companies and the federal government. Companies have historically paid community representatives in order to stave of restiveness rather than ensuring that their activities positively impact the community as a whole.
“Although some companies have set up CSR structures that are commendable, the government should also keep companies in check and ensure that they do not undertake activities that negatively impact citizens,” she added.
She, however, urged the people of the Niger Delta to consistently and continuously speak out against corruption and waste within government agencies.
On his part, Ken Henshaw, the National Coordinator of We The People, a civil society organization, said the NDDC and the other mechanisms were not created with the people in mind. Hence, the Commission has failed to deliver on its mandate.
“From start, OMPADEC [Oil Mineral Producing Area Development Commission] and NDDC closed the door against communities. MNDA [Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs] was created to appease militants, not communities. There has really been no mechanism created with the people in mind. This is why it is easy for politicians to take it over. It was never created as the people’s.
“To local communities, NDDC is elitist and far. No local person can access NDDC. You can’t even deliver a letter at the NDDC, nobody will take it from you at the gate. You can’t enter the premises, they don’t reply mails, nothing. How do you engage such an agency?” Henshaw queried.
He, however, stated that “to make the NDDC open and impactful, the key responsibility lies with the government” and that the “government needs to be more critical about who they appoint into the commission.
“So far, the government has used NDDC as a settlement package for friends and political allies. The flow of legitimacy in NDDC is from the Presidency, not from the people of the ND [Niger Delta]. So those appointed to NDDC operate in a manner that gives no heed to the needs of the people of the region.
“Appointments into NDDC are awarded through a system of patronage and political reward. Merit has never been the consideration. When that happens, the Commission becomes a conduit for politics and ‘empowerment’ for allies. Contracts are awarded as rewards.
“We must always remember that the people of the region are victims of NDDC. What people need are opportunities to engage,” he said.
TNG reports the experts urged the government to ensure that benefit-sharing mechanisms translate to tangible benefits for people of the Niger Delta. Especially, Yesufu called on the government to transition the Presidential Amnesty Programme into an agency that does not just benefit a small number of ex-militants but one that focuses on developing youths of the Niger Delta as a whole.
The experts also called for the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) Amendment Bill. According to them, the passage of these bills will address the concerns of citizens, especially those of the Niger Delta.
