The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, says the Forensic Audit,
ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari for the Commission, is a solution
to the years of decay and challenges of underdevelopment in the Niger
Delta region.
Speaking during a two-day training organized by Clearpoint
Communications for ten Communication Specialists in Port Harcourt,
Rivers State, the NDDC Acting Managing Director, Professor Daniel
Pondei, said that the Forensic Audit followed a request by the governors
of the nine Niger Delta States, noting that the aim of the forensic
exercise was to highlight the areas of strength and weaknesses of the
Commission and not to witch-hunt any group or individual.
Professor Pondei, who was represented by the Director Corporate Affairs,
Mr. Charles Obi Odili, stated that the Forensic Audit was sacrosanct
because the time had come for the NDDC, which was established in 2000,
to offer a lasting solution to the socio-economic challenges of the
Niger Delta region, to take a quantum leap into the future as evidenced
in other delta regions of the world.
He remarked: “I am happy you are being trained today to give strategic
communication support to the Forensic Audit teams in the nine Niger
Delta States and the assignment of the audit team is to evaluate and
examine the financial records of the Commission.
“In September last year, when the governors of the Niger Delta States
visited the President, Muhammadu Buhari, they highlighted the need for
the forensic examination of the account of the NDDC, so that we can see
what we have done with what we have received so far. It has come to a
point the NDDC needs to know where it stands, not just in the court of
public opinion but in the very essence of the organization. That is why
this is important so that we can take positive steps towards getting
positive results.
“So, what the exercise would do is that it would highlight the areas of
strength and at the same time point out the various areas of weaknesses.
This is very important because it is high time the Niger Delta region
took a dynamic leap into the future. Why this project is key is that
whenever the Niger Delta is sick, the entire nation would be sick.”
Delivering a paper entitled: “The NDDC, Facts, Figures and Falsehood”,
the Deputy Director, Corporate Affairs, Mr. Chijioke Amu-Nnadi, noted
that the Niger Delta region that is the third-largest delta region on
earth populated by 31.2 million people, was the least developed region
in Nigeria.
Amu-Nnadi explained that while the natural resources from the Niger
Delta make Nigeria the 6th largest oil producer in the world, 70 per
cent of the people in the region live below the poverty line, just as
“all indices of development such as education, health, sanitation, job
creation, water, and other physical infrastructures were far below
acceptable standards.
He said: “To address this unfortunate paradox, the Federal Government
established the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, through an Act
of the National Assembly, the NDDC Act 2000, with the aim to cater to
the needs of the nine political States of the Niger Delta region. To
implement its obviously wide mandate, the NDDC at inception adopted a
two-pronged strategy, an interim action plan under which all projects
abandoned would be completed and new ones executed to douse prevalent
tension and a regional master plan that will be a roadmap for
integrated, long-term development. Over 2 million patients have been
treated in the NDDC Free Healthcare Mission, a figure that far outweighs
numbers typically treated by some of the best hospitals yearly.
Nnadi noted: “But after many years of failed promises, lingering
mistrust has remained one habit that refused to go away. Even people
using NDDC facilities and/or projects, such as roads, still say NDDC has
done nothing. It is sometimes difficult to get the communities to
support and/or partner with the Government.’
“Also, there are serious poor governance issues across the region.
Despite receipts by other agencies and project providers, there is
serious pressure on the NDDC, due to poor allocation, application, and
implementation issues. Unfortunately, funding has been a lingering issue
and NDDC has not received its full statutory due.
“At this point, you may want to ask, after the period of praises for
being a solution to the problems of the Niger Delta, what went wrong?
How did NDDC go from an agency of hope and promise to one which is being
investigated for poor delivery on its mandate? The answer would be that
we are in the era of emergency projects, budget strictures, and undue
political influence.”
In his own presentation, the Deputy Director, Media Relations, Mr. Pius
Ughakpoteni, discussed what it takes to manage digital public relations
and social media for the NDDC Forensic Audit Team.
He stated: “As Communications Specialists, the most critical part of
your job entails assuaging a largely angry and disappointed people and
taming voices of discord the genuine intentions of the NDDC Forensic
Audit across the Niger Delta region. To achieve this, you must be
subsumed within the overall corporate, departmental strategy, and social
media plan of the NDDC Forensic Audit Team.”
To enable them to function effectively, the Communications Specialists
were presented with laptops, modems, and flash drives to achieve key
communication objectives for the NDDC Forensic Audit.