Former President Goodluck Jonathan has decried the inability of the Niger Delta Development Commission to complete projects commissioned in different parts of the region to uplift the lives of the people.
Jonathan said that with frequent changes of leadership in the management of the NDDC, it would not be able to complete projects.
He spoke at the grand finale of the 25th anniversary celebration of the Niger Delta Development Commission in Port Harcourt, the state capital, on Saturday.
“But something critical that I need to mention; Onyema Ugochukwu, the pioneer chairman, noted it — the frequent changes of the leadership of the NDDC has been a problem for the development,” the former president said.
He added, “When we listened to the keynote address, Ngozi (Okonjo-Iweala) mentioned numerous projects that were abandoned.
“They were not abandoned because the managers of the NDDC wanted to do so, but the frequent changes made it that way. When you cannot plan, when there’s no time to plan, agencies that go to develop now resort to contractor-driven projects, not projects based on planning.
“From what the chairman said, over these 25 years, we have had 11 CEOs of the NDDC. That means that the CEO on average is two years, three months. So, two years, three months, how can you plan? How can you finish projects that are significant to the region?”
Hails Tinubu
The former Bayelsa State governor commended President Bola Tinubu for retaining Samuel Ogbuku as the Managing Director of the NDDC, a move he said showed that the President was interested in developing the region.
He said, “And we are here celebrating this because he (Ogbuku) has stayed a little more than two years. (Former President Muhammadu) Buhari appointed him in 2022, I think November or so, but he resumed duty on January 4, 2023.
“Tinubu came on board in May 2023. If Tinubu was not interested in developing this region, he would have removed him and given the appointment to another person. He would have been just five months in office. Nobody would have heard about Ogbuku.
“We hear about Oyema Ugochukwu and Timi Alaibe because they stayed for a reasonable time, and within that period, they were able to put things on the ground that people remember.”
Jonathan, however, urged the agency not to relent but to deepen its commitments to performance-driven and inclusive governance, one that prioritises long-term impacts over short-term, politically motivated projects.
He added, “We must continually emphasise that the future of the Niger Delta does not rest solely on oil and gas. It lies in agriculture, education, digital innovation, tourism, and renewable energy. True sustainability requires preparing our region for a post-oil economy, the transition that must begin now.”
