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Tag: NDDC

  • Buhari approves 5 new appointments for NDDC, NERC, NHRC

    President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of five new executives for National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

    Mr Olusegun Adekunle, Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), made this known in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

    He said the president made the appointments following their confirmation by the senate.

    According to him, Mr Anthony Ojukwu from Imo State is the new
    Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) with initial term of five years.

    “Mr. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, who hails from Ondo State, is the new Executive Director, Niger Delta Development Commission with initial term of four years.

    “Hon. Chika Ama, Nwauwa also from Imo State has been appointed the new Executive Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) also with initial term of four years.

    “Mr Nwogu N. Nwogu from Abia State is the new Executive Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with initial term of four years.

    “And Prof. James Momoh from Edo State is the new Chairman,
    Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) also with five years initial term.”

    The president directed that the appointments should take immediate effect.

     

  • NDDC insists on completion of on-going projects

    The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has re-stated its resolve to complete all on-going projects across the Niger Delta region within the limits of funds available to it.

    The NDDC Executive Director Projects Engr. (Dr) Samuel Adjogbe, re-echoed the commitment when he led a team of directors and engineers to inspect the emergency repair of Umuelemai-Agbaja Road in Isiala Mbaino Local Government Areas of Imo State.

    Last week, the NDDC Managing Director, Mr Nsima Ekere, accompanied by other directors of the Commission, also inspected the construction of internal roads in Umueze 1, Ehime Mbano, including the road connecting Obolo in Isiala Mbano to Ehime Mbano LGA.

    Engr. Adjogbe underlined the economic benefits of community roads and reaffirmed the commitment of the NDDC management to construct quality roads that would enable rural dwellers evacuate their farm produce to the urban centres.

    He expressed satisfaction with the performance of the contractor, adding that NDDC would continue to encourage indigenous firms to progressively improve on their capacity to deliver quality projects for the benefit of the people.

    The Executive Director urged the community leaders in the area to support and cooperate with the contractor to ensure that there were no hindrances to meeting NDDC’s target date for completing the project.

    Engr. Adjogbe expressed satisfaction with the quality of work at the Umuelemai-Agbaja Road. He, however, queried the absence of signposts to indicate that the project was being executed by the NDDC.

    He also inspected the completed multi-purpose civic centre at Umueze 1, where he was briefed on the outstanding external works and the requirements for furnishing.

    The Project Manager of the Umuelemai-Agbaja Road, Engr Emmet Dooley, assured that the project would be completed soon, stating that asphalting would be finished within two weeks.

    A former member of the Federal House of Representatives, Chief E.E Osuagwu lauded the NDDC and the Federal Government for putting smiles on the faces of people through the provision of critical infrastructure. He said that the communities would be praying for the success of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

    Similarly, the co-coordinator Imo State Development Council, Chief Theodore Anosike, commended the current NDDC board for building quality roads for rural communities, noting that it had made it possible for people in several communities to drive to their villages.

     

  • Senate confirms Buhari’s NDDC board nominees

    The Nigerian Senate on Thursday confirmed President Muhammadu Buhari’s three board nominees for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    They nominees are Chuka Ama Nwauwa (Imo State), Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa (Ondo State) and Nwogu N. Nwogu (Abia State).

    The confirmation was based on the recommendation by the Committee on Niger Delta, whose report on the nominees was considered at the plenary on Thursday.

    The committee, in the report, recalled that it had disqualified three of the NDDC board members earlier nominated by President Muhammadu Buhari, which made the Senate to reject their appointment on October 6, 2017.

    The committee also recalled that Buhari replaced the nominees in a confirmation request read in the chamber on April 11, 2017.

    The report said, “The committee met and screened the nominees but put its report on hold in line with the resolution of the Senate regarding confirmation of nominations at that time.

    “After due consultation with the leadership of the Senate, given that Mr. President had forwarded the above-mentioned names before the resolution of the Senate on confirmation exercises, the committee wishes to present its report on the screening of the nominees.”

  • Silicon Valley-based org brings digital learning to Niger Delta

    Silicon Valley-based org brings digital learning to Niger Delta

    The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) says it is collaborating with a Silicon Valley-based organization to revolutionize education and learning in the entire Niger-Delta Region.

    NDDC Managing Director, Mr. Nsima Ekere, made this known when Senator Ibok Essien, the Founder of Ritman University, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, and the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Celestine Ntuen paid him a courtesy visit in his office at the Commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt.

    “We are collaborating with a Silicon Valley-based organization called the Digital Learning Network and they are coming with partners like Microsoft. The idea is to replace the hardcopy textbooks that we have in primary and secondary schools, convert them into digital formats,” Ekere said.

    According to him, each student in secondary and primary schools would be given tablets and laptops that would contain all the textbooks that they need and all the learning instructions and manuals.

    The NDDC boss told the visiting officials that the Commission also will partner with Ritman University in setting up a youth development centre.

    Ekere noted that the vision of the university, with respect to developing the capacity of students to be self-starters, tallied with that of the NDDC, stating that it was important that young people were given quality education that would prepare them to be self-employed.

    “We must be concerned about the quality of education that we are giving to our youths in the Niger Delta. This is a region that is beset with a lot of difficulties and challenges. Youth restiveness is very common in the region and unemployment has reached alarming proportions,” he said.

    Ekere said that the plan for a youth development centre was the kind of contribution that would teach the young ones how to be entrepreneurs and employers of labour. According to him, “it keys into the vision of the current board and management of the NDDC”.

    He said that experience had shown that there was need to develop a special kind of programme that would lead to sustainable livelihood for the youths. “We had trained 23,000 people over the years and they were given starter packs. Unfortunately, some of them sell the starter packs and return to the ranks of the unemployed,” he said.

    The NDDC Chief Executive Officer said that one of the ways the Commission was tackling the problem was through the establishment of enterprise hubs, for which it was partnering with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN.

    He observed that SMEDAN had 23 Industrial Development Centers, IDCs, nationwide and four of the centers were located in the Niger Delta. However, he regretted that all the centres had since closed down.

    Ekere stated that NDDC recently signed an agreement with SMEDAN to convert the IDCs to enterprise hubs and innovation centres because the region was blessed with the best of brains. He added: “The idea is that we will start with one of the IDC’s in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, but ultimately, our intension is to see that all the IDCs owned by SMEDAN in the Niger Delta region are revamped and revitalized.”

    The NDDC boss stressed the need to prepare the youths to face the new world and be competitive with graduates from all over the world.

    Earlier, the Founder of Ritman University, Senator Essien, expressed satisfaction with the development efforts of the NDDC over the past 18 years. He stated: “The region which was hitherto abandoned has been made to come alive with the numerous infrastructure and human capital development spread all over the region.”

    He appealed to the Federal Government to release the outstanding funds owed the NDDC to enable it continue to execute its development projects across the region.

    In his presentation, the Vice Chancellor, Prof Celestine Ntuen, said that Ritman University was determined to change the character of teaching and learning in the country. “We want train students with creative ideas and impart the right type of education which will make them self-starters,” he said.

    The Vice Chancellor said that the goal of the university was to train men and women who would transform Nigeria. He added: “We want to help in building a skilled workforce for our industries. We need to develop functional citizens to help in reducing restiveness. We want to produce graduates that will add value to the society.”

     

  • Microsoft, NDDC, others take e-learning to primary, secondary schools in Niger Delta

    The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Microsoft and other Silicon Valley companies in U.S. have begun an e-learning project to revolutionize education in the Niger Delta.

    The Managing Director of NDDC, Mr Nsima Ekere, said this on Monday while speaking with State House Correspondents after the organization presented the model to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    According to Ekere, the project is aimed at bringing the Niger Delta youth up to date with the rapid technological changes taking place in other parts of the world.

    “We had a meeting with the Vice President and we made a presentation to him on a project which in our estimation will revolutionize education and learning in the entire Niger Delta region and in the country.

    “In these days where the world is changing very rapidly, e-learning, e-trading and e-solution is the way to go.

    “And so we come with a project to replace the hard copy textbooks that we have for learning in primary and secondary schools, convert them into digital format.

    “And each of the students in the primary and secondary school will be given tablets and laptops that will contain all the textbooks, all the learning instructions and learning manuals that they need and then prepare them to face the new world and be competitive with graduates from any part of the world.

    “That is exactly what we are proposing for the Niger Delta.’’

    According to Ekere, the Vice President is supportive of the programme.

    He said it was a vendor-funded project and none of the Niger Delta State governments or the NDDC would spend its money on it.

    “We are working with a company called Digital Learning Networks, part of the Silicon Valley in the U.S., and they have come with partners like Microsoft and the Black Centre.

    “And so it is a vendor-funded project; they are funding it 100 per cent.

    “So this project is going to be delivered to the entire Niger Delta region at zero cost to NDDC or to any of the state governments,’’ the NDDC CEO emphasised.

    Pressed further to give the cost of the gigantic project Ekere stated that the organizations involved would have a better idea of how much it would cost “but for us it is not going to cost any of the state governments anything.

    “It is totally vendor-funded and they have already worked out the financial model.

    “Deloite is the financial partners on this and they have actually worked out the financial model in that this is a project that can be delivered without cost to the Nigerian government.’’

    On the New vision for Niger Delta and how NDDC was keying into it he said the e-learning project was in line with the new vision for the Niger Delta that President Muhammadu Buhari had.

    “This is part of the new vision; it is a new way of doing things; it is a new love for the Niger Delta people as shown by the president,’’ he stated.

    He said the Commission was doing a lot of things in the President’s vision.

    “We are part of the inter-ministerial committee that is being chaired by the Vice President on the Niger Delta and I am sure you have seen our work plan and the other things that we are doing in that project.

    “Yes, this is part of it,’’ he added.

     

  • We must sensitize Niger Delta youths to dangers of militancy – NDDC MD

    The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Mr. Nsima Ekere, has urged major stakeholders to sensitize youths in the Niger Delta on the dangers of militancy and other social vices.

    Ekere, who spoke when leaders of the Port Harcourt Club 1928 paid him a courtesy visit at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, stressed the need for peace and security to attract investments to the region.

    He charged members of the Port Harcourt Club, whom he described as strong opinion leaders, to join in the effort to sanitize the Niger Delta, lamenting that most of the businesses that used to operate out of Port Harcourt have closed or re-located.

    The NDDC Chief Executive Officer remarked that investors need maximum security. He charged the leaders of Port Harcourt Club to advise the youths of the Niger Delta and make them understand that security would allow more businesses to operate from the region and thus create more jobs for them.

    Ekere regretted that the world biggest refinery is being built in Lagos by a private investor. He said: “Millions of dollars will be used to construct pipelines to take the crude from the Niger Delta to Lagos. You can imagine the number of jobs that will be created if that facility were to be built in the Niger Delta. Imagine the multiplier effect in the economy.”

    The NDDC boss declared that the current board of the Commission had been working very hard to change the story of the interventionist agency since it took over 15 months ago.

    He said: “When we came on board we came with a very ambitious plan to restructure the NDDC. We articulated what we called the 4-R strategy. To restructure our balance sheet because it was over-bloated. A lot of projects were abandoned and there was over-trading. We identified the fact that for us to progress, we must of necessity restructure our balance sheet.

    “We decided that we cannot continue to add to the liabilities. So, in our budget for 2017, we decided to dedicate 70 per cent of the budget to on-going projects to enable us concentrate on those projects and complete them. Only 30 per cent is dedicated to salaries, overheads and new projects. We also took measures restore the Commission to its core mandate.”

    Ekere said that the NDDC was now concentrating on big ticket projects that would lead to economic integration of the Niger Delta, noting that it made sense to focus on doing those things that would change the economy of the region by providing sustainable and meaningful infrastructure.

    He also said that the NDDC had decided to re-order its governance protocol, adding that the Commission must be run as an international best practice organization. Ekere assured: “We should respect laws and policies. We must follow due process in awarding contracts. So, we have decided to strengthen the governance system of NDDC. We re-dedicated ourselves to doing what is right and proper at all times.”

    Ekere expressed delight that the changes at NDDC was already getting positive feed-backs from the international community, the business community and the Federal Government. According to him, “they recognize that NDDC is now doing things differently.” He commended the NDDC staff for being instrumental to the change that was taking place in the Commission.

    Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the Port Harcourt Club 1928, Dr Diamond Tobin-West, commended the NDDC for rendering numerous forms of assistance to the club, especially in the area of sponsoring sporting competitions.

    He said that the Port Harcourt Club had never had it so good in its relationship with NDDC, appealing for more assistance as it prepares to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the club this year.

    Dr Tobin-West also appealed for the completion of the sports complex being built by NDDC for the club.

     

  • APC national leader letter to Buhari accusing NDDC board of administrative fraud

    A national officer of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Yekini Nabena, has petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari to redress the injustice and illegality regarding the subsistence of the current Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    In an open letter to the president dated February 26, 2018, Nabena, who is a National Ex-Officio Member of APC from Bayelsa State, said the tenure of the Board formally ended last December and its continued stay was like allowing illegitimacy to run riot.

    The full text of the open letter dated February 26, 2018, reads:

    “Dear Mr President, Sir

    This is to humbly express my grave concern over the anomaly existing in the tenancy of the posts of Managing Director and Chief Executive of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as well as Chairman of the Commission’s Board. I have followed this case since late last year, when the tenure of the Managing Director and the Chairman officially ended and now feel constrained to write you, Mr. President, to highlight the aberration that abounds in their continued stay in office.

    The tenure of Nsima Udo Ekere as Managing Director and Chief Executive of NDDC has since elapsed. This is according to his letter of appointment from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, dated November 1, 2016, with Ref. No: SGF.55/S.2/C.3/IV/52, which was signed by the then SGF, Babachir David Lawal.

    The letter reads in part, “The appointment took effect from November 1, 2016 and you are to serve out the remainder of the term of office of your predecessor in line with Section 5(2) of the Act.”

    Ekere, from Akwa Ibom State, was appointed to serve out the tenure of fellow Akwa Ibomite, Mr Bassey Dan-Abia, who was removed following the dissolution of the NDDC Board by Mr. President in 2015.

    Similarly, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, from Cross River State, was appointed Chairman of the NDDC Board to complete the tenure of Senator Bassey Ewa-Henshaw, who is from the same state. Ewa-Henshaw had been appointed for a statutory four-year tenure, which ran from December 16, 2013 to December 15, 2017.

    The Act establishing the NDDC provides for a rotation of its leadership among the nine NDDC states of Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo, Abia, Imo, and Ondo. In line with the law, states that produced officers of the dissolved board retained the slots, for the purpose of completing their tenures and maintaining equity in the leadership of NDDC.

    Mr. President, I wish to humbly point out that the headship of the NDDC Board ought to revert to my home state of Bayelsa, after Cross River, going by the existing statutory arrangement. Following the expiration of its tenure, the Ndoma-Egba Board ought to have left without much ado. The resort to sit-tight, crude propaganda and manipulation does not only display an arrogant contempt for the law guiding the Commission, but it also offends basic decency and public morality. In fact, it amounts to administrative fraud. Any further day the board exists is tantamount to allowing wilful iniquity and illegality to run riot. Moreover, the fact that they have been paying themselves all manner of allowances even after the expiration of their legal tenure is criminal.

    I urge you, Sir, to act fast to get rid of this anomaly.

    Besides the injustice to Bayelsa and the other states that are being denied their statutory slots, and the contravention of the law, the issue of the NDDC tenancy is given urgency by certain allegations and suspicions that have come to the fore, which border on the integrity and image of the present administration.

    Since last year, there have been claims about some underhand dealings by some senior officials of the government to illegally extend the tenure of the NDDC Board. Several groups and individuals have protested the alleged move to make the board stay longer than is statutorily provided. This situation certainly does not augur well for the administration and the change agenda.

    I am, therefore, calling on Mr. President to immediately dissolve the NDCC Board and reconstitute it in line with the law and the existing rotational arrangement that has ensured peace and equity among the NDDC states.

    I trust that you will act fairly on this matter.”

    YEKINI NABENA

    National Ex-Officio

    All Progressives Congress (APC)

    Abuja

     

  • APC national officer accuses ‘sit-tight’ NDDC board of administrative fraud

    A national officer of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Yekini Nabena, has petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari to redress the injustice and illegality regarding the subsistence of the current Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    In an open letter to the president dated February 26, 2018, Nabena, who is a National Ex-Officio Member of APC from Bayelsa State, said the tenure of the Board formally ended last December and its continued stay was like allowing illegitimacy to run riot.

    Nabena said the tenures of the NDDC managing director/chief executive, Nsima Udo Ekere, and chairman of the commission’s Board, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, expired since last year, judging by the terms of their appointment and the law establishing NDDC, which explicitly stated that they were to complete their respective state’s tenure.

    While Ndoma-Egba was appointed to serve out the tenure of fellow Cross River State indigene, Senator Bassey Ewa-Henshaw, Ekere was chosen to complete the tenure of fellow Akwa Ibom citizen, Mr Bassey Dan-Abia, Nabena stated.

    Ewa-Henshaw and Dan-Abia were inaugurated in 2013 for a four-year term that ought to have ended last December.

    The APC leader said Ndoma-Egba and Ekere’s continued stay in office was fraudulent and a demonstration of contempt for the law.

    He alleged that Bayelsa State, to which the board chairmanship post ought to have reverted, and other NDDC states were being short-changed under the current situation.

    He also lambasted the managing director and the chairman for allegedly applying manipulative schemes to try to change the rules to give themselves more time in office.

    “The resort to sit-tight, crude propaganda and manipulation does not only display an arrogant contempt for the law guiding the Commission, but it also offends basic decency and public morality,” he stated.

    He stressed, “In fact, it amounts to administrative fraud. Any further day the board exists is tantamount to allowing wilful iniquity and illegality to run riot. Moreover, the fact that they have been paying themselves all manner of allowances even after the expiration of their legal tenure is criminal”.

    Nabena urged Buhari to quickly redress the anomalous situation by disbanding the NDDC Board and reconstituting it based on fairness in order to restore sanity to the commission’s leadership and save the image of his government and its campaign to bring about change.

     

  • NDDC approves training of 100 Niger Delta youths at Innoson

    The Governing Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has approved the training of 100 young men and women in Automobile Technology at an indigenous car manufacturing company, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Group as part of its skills acquisition programme.

    This was made known by the Chairman of the Board, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN, when he led a delegation from NDDC to visit the Innoson factory at Nnewi, Anambra State. He was accompanied by the Delta State Representative on the NDDC Board, Dr Ogaga Ifowodo, NDDC Director- Agriculture and Fisheries, Mr Marcel Eshiogu, among others.

    Senator Ndoma-Egba affirmed that the NDDC Board had in its first meeting this year approved a visit to the factory and the Innoson Kiara Academy, a Technical and Vocational Institution established by an international consulting firm in partnership with Innoson Group, for training in different aspects of Automobile Maintenance.

    He said that the NDDC would soon select 100 young men and women from the region to undergo the training to boost their skills, stressing the importance of manpower development.

    The Chairman said: “We believe that the real resource of any country is not its minerals but the young men and women of the country. However, they remain a resource only if they are trained, skilled and engaged.

    “If they are not trained, skilled or engaged, instead of being a resource, they will become a curse. We don’t want our young men and women to be a curse. We prefer that they are resources, so that they can contribute their own quota to the development of the Niger Delta region.”

    Senator Ndoma-Egba commended the Chairman of Innoson Group, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, for his faith and belief in Nigeria. He said: “We are highly impressed with what you have done. It is not just the facilities but the spirit behind what you have done. If we have a few more Nigerians with your level of believe in this country, we will be better off. Siting this massive investment in your community is a mark of faith not just in your people but also in your country.

    “You have shown that industrialising Nigeria is possible. We keep talking about local content, See what you have done, bringing expatriates here to help us meet global standards. After taking a ride in one of your buses, I believe that the products from your factory are world class.”

    The NDDC Chairman stated that the Commission was interested in the training Niger Delta youths, just like the Presidential Amnesty Programme, which was already sponsoring the training of 200 students at the Innoson Academy.

    He assured that the NDDC would support Innoson Motors, wondering why governments at different levels would not patronise locally manufactured or assembled vehicles. “That is the only way we can encourage our local industries. So, NDDC will be at the vanguard of this effort,” he pledged.

    Addressing the 200 students sponsored by the Amnesty Programme, at the training centre in Nnewi, the NDDC Chairman charged them to make maximum use of the opportunity, noting that the skills they acquire would empower them to be useful to themselves and to the society.

    He told them that the acquisition of skills was meant to give them dignity and keep them away from destructive militancy, observing that militancy should be for positive goals. He explained: “I am a militant for development, knowledge and dignity.”

    The Executive Chairman of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company, Chief Chukwuma, said that the kind remarks of the NDDC Chairman would energise and encourage his company to put in more efforts in the quest to industrialise Nigeria.

    He declared: “We intend to open small factories in different parts of the Niger Delta to among other things, employ those who have successfully gone through our trainings. I have challenged the trainees to put in their best efforts because Innoson will offer them automatic employment in our factories.”

     

  • Panic as gunmen kidnap two NDDC contractors in Bayelsa

    Suspected gunmen on Tuesday kidnapped two contractors working on one of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, projects in Otuogiri Community, Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa.

    Confirming the incident, the spokesman of the Bayelsa Police Command, Asinim Butswat, said in Yenagoa that police had arrested the accomplice and that he was undergoing interrogation.

    Lucky Moses, one of the Community Development Committee executives in the community, told the News Agency of Nigeria that the gunmen stormed the area in the early hours of Tuesday.

    “The gunmen came and began to exchange gun fire with soldiers before whisking away their targets.

    “The victims were two but one was released on the spot, while the other was whisked into a waiting speed boat which zoomed off to an unknown destination.

    “The community caught the accomplice who confessed that he gave information to the abductors; the accomplice has been handed over to security operatives,” Mr. Moses said.