By Jerome-Mario Utomi
It is a pedestrian knowledge that in a bid to bring President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda down to the Niger Delta Region and the need for strategic stakeholder engagement, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) convoked a stakeholders’ summit from July 10 to 12, 2024, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The conference reportedly brought together stakeholders in the region to constructively deliberate on issues affecting the Niger Delta with a view to further transforming it.
The gathering, themed, Renewed Hope for Sustainable Development of the Niger Delta and had participation from traditional rulers, professionals, entrepreneurs, youth groups, women groups, development partners and oil-producing companies, may have come and gone, the 19 points communiqué issued loudly spoke what has been on the minds of Niger Deltans.
One of the decisions reached included the reactivation of the NDDC Advisory Committee under section 11 of the NDDC (Establishment, etc.) Act, 2000 (as amended) to advise and monitor the activities of the commission.
The summit accepted the recommendations of the Advisory Committee that all funds due and outstanding to the agency from the statutory sources, including the federal government and ecological fund, be vigorously pursued and recovered.
Closely interesting was the gathering’s demand for additional sources of funding for the NDDC such as at least 3 per cent of VAT revenue should be legislated. There was also a call for increased synergy between the NDDC and the Advisory Committee to achieve a more robust efficiency and activate all organs provided in the Act- as well as the urgent need to remove the organisation from the TSA Policy as it limits the agency from fully achieving its interventionist mandate.
Away from removal from the TSA, another commendable demand was the call on the federal government to strictly adhere to the tenure provisions of the NDDC Act and avoid the incessant dissolution of boards of the commission and the aberrant issue of interim management to run the affairs of the body, demanding that it should be insulated from political interference which puts undue pressure on its leadership.
Also very unique was the stakeholders’ call for urgent completion of the East-West Road which was awarded nearly 20 years ago, to ease transportation across the region, and to thoroughly consider the NDDC (Establishment) Act and drive support for amendments to the Act, where necessary.
In addition to avoiding duplication of projects and efforts in the region by ensuring robust consultation between the NDDC and the nine-member states in project implementation, stakeholders also highlighted the imperatives of proper planning as crucial to any development and therefore, the review of the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan.
While it stressed that appropriate data gathering was essential to any realistic development plan, the bulletin submitted that there must be quantitative and qualitative input from key stakeholders in preparing or reviewing the master plan.
At this point, the meeting suggested something else; the region’s educational curriculum should be reviewed and designed to meet 21st century needs. Technical and vocational training must be given priority by creating technical/vocational training hubs. ‘There should be improved funding of the region’s educational system’.
From education to healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene, it was unanimously agreed that there should be sufficient funding for rural and community health centres and the training and retraining of the personnel to man them. The private sector should be engaged more in partnerships in these areas.
In the areas of supporting women and youths, stakeholders insisted that there should be more women representation in all sectors of the region’s economy and programmes for Persons Living with Disability (PLWD) should be prioritized.
Similarly, on sports, tourism, culture and hospitality, there was a veiled agreement that there exists a need for sustained investment and capacity building in the region’s entertainment and creative industries. Sports development in areas where the region has a comparative advantage such as swimming and wrestling should be given serious attention. There is a need to have a special gathering for the creative industry.
Separate from demand for funding the implementation of the regional development strategy through three sources:
- traditional budget sources (FGN, IGR, etc. (33.3 per cent)
- public-private partnerships (33.3 per cent),
- development finance (33.3 per cent), also legendary was the resonation of demand for initiation of the Niger Delta Development Bank (NDDB) to drive the mobilization of development finance from local and global sources should be given priority. Loans should be given to SMEs within the region to drive economic and industrial growth.
Other vital requests made for the region’s development that are in the opinion of this piece exemplary are the emphasis on the need for modern technology to be deployed in project monitoring and evaluation and integrated waste management plant which can convert wastes to wealth.
On erosion control and flood management, the fathering captured it this way; there should be canalization, shore protection and land reclamation projects, community sensitization and enlightenment campaigns on ecological issues and biodiversity conservation and reforestation to stimulate mangrove restoration.
Moving away from reclamation projects to oil pollution, it was impressive seeing the summit called for holistic remediation across communities in the Niger Delta to avoid compromise on cleaned areas. The Government, the group insisted should uphold the provisions of Environmental Guidelines and Standards for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria (EGASPIN) and enforce proper de-commissioning of oil facilities.
Other areas where interesting resolutions were made are the calls for the creation of technology hubs within the region to drive creativity, innovation and the rapid development of the region in areas of artificial intelligence, diversification from oil and gas to agro-based regional economy, celebration of an annual Niger Delta Day” on July 12 in acknowledgement of the founding fathers of the Niger Delta struggle who sacrificed life and limb and lastly, regular convocation of stakeholder engagements such as this should be sustained, among others.
This piece holds the opinion that the demands are vital to the region’s development, and, if granted, will announce a new Niger Delta region where peace and sustainable development shall reign supreme.
Utomi Jerome-Mario is a Lagos-based media professional. He can be reached via [email protected]/08032725374