A former Minister of Petroleum Resources and Foreign Affairs, Mr Henry Odein Ajumogobia, has advocated for the strengthening of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, as the arrowhead of development agencies in the Niger Delta region.
Ajumogobia, who made the call as the keynote speaker at the NDDC Law and Development Summit in Port Harcourt, stressed the need to support the NDDC in its role as the central coordinating body among development partners in Nigeria’s oil-rich region.
He lamented: “Rather than functioning as the central coordinating body, the NDDC has become one layer in a crowded ecosystem where responsibilities are diffuse and unclear. This has produced patterns of duplication in which multiple actors work at cross-purposes while oil-producing communities remain underdeveloped.”
Ajumogobia acknowledged the constraints faced by the NDDC in working within the existing laws, stating: “Its limitations are not merely administrative; they are structural. The NDDC operates within a fragmented governance architecture characterised by overlapping mandates among federal institutions, state governments, private sector actors, corporate social responsibility initiatives, and programmes.
Speaking at the summit, the Chairman of the NDDC Governing Board, Mr Chiedu Ebie, underlined the relationship between law and development, noting: “It is foundational. Law is not merely a set of rules and restrictions. In its highest expression, law is a living instrument of social engineering, economic transformation, institutional strengthening, environmental sustainability, and the protection of the rights and liberties of the people it serves.”
He said that the theme of the summit, “The Role of Law in Driving Sustainable Development in the Niger Delta”, was timely and transformative.
“For the people of the Niger Delta, a region whose vast natural wealth has for too long stood in painful contrast to the poverty and neglect of its communities, these are not abstract ideals. They are urgent, lived realities. The aspirations of our people demand nothing less than a legal architecture that is bold, responsive, and fit for purpose.”
“We have adopted creative and innovative strategies to navigate the complex terrain before us, always within the bounds of the law, but never constrained by a narrow or uninspired reading of it. We have repositioned the Commission’s operations, strengthened internal governance, and accelerated our development programmes with a renewed sense of urgency and purpose.”
In his opening remarks, the NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, observed that “sustainable development for the Niger Delta region is not just about infrastructure and brick-and-mortar; it entails a balanced integration of economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection for the region’s long-term well-being.”
He stated: “In keeping faith with the statutory mandate of the Commission, this current Board and Management, since our assumption of duty, have, in our determination to make a real difference in the lives of our people, made very deliberate, conscious, and intentional efforts to reposition the Commission from Transactions to Transformation.
“When we came on board, we discovered that the Commission’s internal processes required administrative recalibration to carry out the ambitious reforms we needed. We engaged world-renowned KPMG Advisory, who reviewed our processes and developed new Corporate Governance policies that now form the bedrock of our internal governance.
“We have also reformed our procurement system and processes, making them more transparent and less opaque. As of today, the NDDC has almost 90 per cent of its processes digitalised. We have implemented mechanisms for contractors and stakeholders to sign and execute their contracts electronically from the comfort of their homes and offices, with minimal physical contact.”
“In line with consolidating the reforms we have made and are continuing to make, we recognise the need to further strengthen the legal and institutional frameworks that guide our operations. It is for that reason that we have convened this Law and Development Summit, with the aim of bringing together legal experts, development partners, sustainability professionals and indeed key stakeholders.”
Earlier, the NDDC Director of Legal Services, Sir Victor Arenyeka, remarked that the NDDC was a creation of law and that its activities were largely regulated not only by its Establishment Act but also by a range of other relevant laws, rules, and regulations.
He explained: “The Summit seeks to provide a strategic platform for policymakers, legal practitioners, development experts, traditional institutions, environmental advocates, academia, civil society organisations, and stakeholders within and outside the Niger Delta to critically examine how law, governance, policy implementation, and institutional accountability can serve as effective tools for sustainable regional transformation.
