The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, says the Forensic Audit,
\nordered by President Muhammadu Buhari for the Commission, is a solution
\nto the years of decay and challenges of underdevelopment in the Niger
\nDelta region.<\/p>\n
Speaking during a two-day training organized by Clearpoint
\nCommunications for ten Communication Specialists in Port Harcourt,
\nRivers State, the NDDC Acting Managing Director, Professor Daniel
\nPondei, said that the Forensic Audit followed a request by the governors
\nof the nine Niger Delta States, noting that the aim of the forensic
\nexercise was to highlight the areas of strength and weaknesses of the
\nCommission and not to witch-hunt any group or individual.<\/p>\n
Professor Pondei, who was represented by the Director Corporate Affairs,
\nMr. Charles Obi Odili, stated that the Forensic Audit was sacrosanct
\nbecause the time had come for the NDDC, which was established in 2000,
\nto offer a lasting solution to the socio-economic challenges of the
\nNiger Delta region, to take a quantum leap into the future as evidenced
\nin other delta regions of the world.<\/p>\n
He remarked: “I am happy you are being trained today to give strategic
\ncommunication support to the Forensic Audit teams in the nine Niger
\nDelta States and the assignment of the audit team is to evaluate and
\nexamine the financial records of the Commission.<\/p>\n
“In September last year, when the governors of the Niger Delta States
\nvisited the President, Muhammadu Buhari, they highlighted the need for
\nthe forensic examination of the account of the NDDC, so that we can see
\nwhat we have done with what we have received so far. It has come to a
\npoint the NDDC needs to know where it stands, not just in the court of
\npublic opinion but in the very essence of the organization. That is why
\nthis is important so that we can take positive steps towards getting
\npositive results.<\/p>\n
“So, what the exercise would do is that it would highlight the areas of
\nstrength and at the same time point out the various areas of weaknesses.
\nThis is very important because it is high time the Niger Delta region
\ntook a dynamic leap into the future. Why this project is key is that
\nwhenever the Niger Delta is sick, the entire nation would be sick.”<\/p>\n
Delivering a paper entitled: “The NDDC, Facts, Figures and Falsehood”,
\nthe Deputy Director, Corporate Affairs, Mr. Chijioke Amu-Nnadi, noted
\nthat the Niger Delta region that is the third-largest delta region on
\nearth populated by 31.2 million people, was the least developed region
\nin Nigeria.<\/p>\n
Amu-Nnadi explained that while the natural resources from the Niger
\nDelta make Nigeria the 6th largest oil producer in the world, 70 per
\ncent of the people in the region live below the poverty line, just as
\n“all indices of development such as education, health, sanitation, job
\ncreation, water, and other physical infrastructures were far below
\nacceptable standards.<\/p>\n
He said: “To address this unfortunate paradox, the Federal Government
\nestablished the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, through an Act
\nof the National Assembly, the NDDC Act 2000, with the aim to cater to
\nthe needs of the nine political States of the Niger Delta region. To
\nimplement its obviously wide mandate, the NDDC at inception adopted a
\ntwo-pronged strategy, an interim action plan under which all projects
\nabandoned would be completed and new ones executed to douse prevalent
\ntension and a regional master plan that will be a roadmap for
\nintegrated, long-term development. Over 2 million patients have been
\ntreated in the NDDC Free Healthcare Mission, a figure that far outweighs
\nnumbers typically treated by some of the best hospitals yearly.<\/p>\n
Nnadi noted: “But after many years of failed promises, lingering
\nmistrust has remained one habit that refused to go away. Even people
\nusing NDDC facilities and\/or projects, such as roads, still say NDDC has
\ndone nothing. It is sometimes difficult to get the communities to
\nsupport and\/or partner with the Government.’<\/p>\n
“Also, there are serious poor governance issues across the region.
\nDespite receipts by other agencies and project providers, there is
\nserious pressure on the NDDC, due to poor allocation, application, and
\nimplementation issues. Unfortunately, funding has been a lingering issue
\nand NDDC has not received its full statutory due.<\/p>\n
“At this point, you may want to ask, after the period of praises for
\nbeing a solution to the problems of the Niger Delta, what went wrong?
\nHow did NDDC go from an agency of hope and promise to one which is being
\ninvestigated for poor delivery on its mandate? The answer would be that
\nwe are in the era of emergency projects, budget strictures, and undue
\npolitical influence.”<\/p>\n
In his own presentation, the Deputy Director, Media Relations, Mr. Pius
\nUghakpoteni, discussed what it takes to manage digital public relations
\nand social media for the NDDC Forensic Audit Team.<\/p>\n
He stated: “As Communications Specialists, the most critical part of
\nyour job entails assuaging a largely angry and disappointed people and
\ntaming voices of discord the genuine intentions of the NDDC Forensic
\nAudit across the Niger Delta region. To achieve this, you must be
\nsubsumed within the overall corporate, departmental strategy, and social
\nmedia plan of the NDDC Forensic Audit Team.”<\/p>\n
To enable them to function effectively, the Communications Specialists
\nwere presented with laptops, modems, and flash drives to achieve key
\ncommunication objectives for the NDDC Forensic Audit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":73664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n