By Jimitota Onoyume

Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has assured that the commission will continue to deliver on its mandate across member states in the country.

Chairman of the commission, Mr Chiedu Ebie who spoke as a guest in a monitored radio programme gave thumbs up to the commission , saying the management team recorded tremendous success in several areas including human and capital development.

He said : “For us, our key achievements first and foremost, which is what many people will take for granted, is peace and stability within the board and the commission.

“In the time past, you know, NDDC was always in the news for the wrong reasons. But I’m proud and confident to say that in the one year that we’ve been there, its been very peaceful, coexisting within the board and then, for everybody that has to do with the commission.

“Another achievement also is that we have created a very harmonious working relationship. We sat amongst ourselves and said ‘you must engage the stakeholders, periodically. And so, about six months into our tenure, we conveyed a Niger Delta Stakeholder Summit which was held in a two-day period in Port Harcourt. And in July, we had critical stakeholders engagement ranging from the private sector to top government officials, to ethnic nationalities, and so on. We keep those engagements going.

“We’ve also engaged with the youth groups as well. I think we’ve had two of such engagements with the youth group. So, in terms of stakeholder management, the day to day administration of the commission is led by the Managing Director/Chief Executive, Sam Ogbuku who I will say, has done an excellent job. We on the Board, as a non executive chairman, we superintend over the board.

“So, we’ve worked to create that harmonious working relationship and at the same time, engage the stakeholders. So, that’s in terms of management and administration.

“Other achievements would have to do with infrastructural development and capacity building in various areas.There are whole load of programs by the commission, which as we all know, is an interventionist agency. Sometimes, people tend to mistake NDDC for a tier of government. They make it seem as if NDDC is a tier of government but it’s an interventionist agency. In doing that, one of the things we will seek to achieve is to also make sure that we conduct empowerment.

“Now, the main one which we sat down and put together, is Project Hope. Which stands for holistic opportunities, programs and for engagements. And this is built around meticulously crafted programmes which include agriculture, entrepreneurship, internship, music and arts. Now, one of the things we realized is that overtime, over the 24 years of it’s existence, NDDC has empowered a lot of people.

“They’ve trained a lot of people. But you find that it is very difficult for you to sit down and determine the exact numbers. Or even the evaluation. What has been the impact of these empowerment programmes? So, it is a bit half hazard, and a bit unified. We sat down and said we need to rejig this thing. We need to create something that over time, as we go along, we will be able to measure the impact and know what each person has achieved and how it has impacted in their lives. And so, we came up with Project Hope which is in three phases.

“We also have the youth internship scheme which we sort of made public towards the second or third quarter of last year where we tried to empower 10,000 youths across the nine NDDC states. And of course, based on their different skills, where they would earn a monthly allowance of N50,000. The world is advancing, there is technological advancement. Even your radio station here, as you can see, has benefitted from technological advancement. So, anything we’re doing, we have to base it along those lines. Everything is online. We register online. So, even for the youth internship scheme which would kick off in earnest, in January, as we’ve now been able to gather all the data, categorize all the people into the different vocations or skill settings. These are two major empowerment programmes

“In education, we recently launched the U-lesson tabs, which is also another initiative of the commission. And we had the launch to signify the partnership between the commission and the first lady.

“Yet again, this borders on technology, where we will be distributing tabs to schools across the region. And we’re very particular this time around. We don’t want to give out these things to students or parents or teachers who would toss them in one corner or use them for other things. Now, these are tabs that have a curriculum loaded onto them. And they aid learning and teaching as well. A pilot programme was run by the manufacturers. And in over one year period, they were able to measure the impact it has had on the children and the fact that it significantly improved their cognitive skills and their learning abilities.

“So, the outcomes were pretty impressive. Which is what we’re trying to replicate across the nine states. Of course, we have the foreign scholarship programme which is post graduate, where we offer scholarships to 200 hundred indigene of the region who go through a rigorous process in determining those that are becoming eligible.

“I remember, when the board just got inaugurated in November of last year, one of the very first complains I received were from people who said we should halt the scholarship scheme and review it. But when we sat down, and we spoke with the directorate responsible for it, we reviewed the process. We found that it was indeed very detailed, very transparent and it was given to those that were deserving of it. Out of two hundred students, that went abroad for this postgraduate scholarship program, eleven of them graduated with a distinction. It goes to show that it’s a good thing. What it does is that apart from the fact that you’re getting a postgraduate degree from a good foreign university, It also puts you on a different pedestal.

“The effect is that it improves you and enables you to get a good job. And when you return, you come and contribute your own quarter to the improvement of the region. And then, eventually, we’re improving the knowledge base and empowering our people with good quality education”