NDDC MD: Despite $40bn Expenditure, Commission Failed to Realise 15-Year Master Plan

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr. Nsima Ekere, at the weekend said, notwithstanding the expenditure of a whopping $40 billion on capital projects, the commission has failed to realise its 15-year master plan. The $40 billion represents 80 per cent of the $50 billion required to implement the vision for the oil-rich region.

Ekere gave this revelation at a three-day retreat of the commission in Onne, Rivers State, where the chairman of the NDDC Board and former Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, advised the NDDC to cease seeing member-state governments as competitors but as development partners in the overall interest of the region.

He, however, contended that for the commission to maximally realise its potential, it must firstly confront and tame what he described in his paper as the “dangerous beasts” that are stalling development and progress at the commission.

“The NDDC master plan originally required 15 years to implement at a cost of $50 billion. The region has received $40 billion over the past 10 years and sadly, there is little evidence to show for the sums spent. Poor governance of self and institutions are at the heart of public sector delivery challenges,” he said, adding that the result of such a posting was disheartening.

Thisday, February 5, 2016

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