Chairman! Are you not forgetting something? Senator Nurudeen
Abatemi-Usman, the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Niger
Delta asked Senator James Manager, the arrowhead of the committee. Of
course, the chairman did not forget what had become a sing-song for him
after inspecting projects that deserved plaudits. So, he intoned: ‘To
God be the glory!”
That generally sums up the impressions of the senators after their one-week inspection tour of projects being executed by the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC in Abia, Cross River and Akwa Ibom states. The senators saw all there was to see. In some cases, they were satisfied. In others, they were disappointed. At the end of the day, Senator Manager still held on to his mantra: To God be the glory!
The Senate Committee which visited in February to monitor the state of NDDC projects in the Niger Delta, had hardly settled down in their red chamber when the members of the House of Representatives Committee on the NDDC came calling for their own round of inspections. The members of the House of Representative led by their chairman, Hon Nicholas Mutu inspected projects in 5 states over a period of 4 days. They were in Rivers, Imo, Edo, Delta and Bayelsa states. The committee performed a similar oversight function in October last year. Then, the committee said it was gathering information to assist it in fine-tuning the 2013 budget of the commission.
Traversing 5 states in just 4 days was hectic for the lawmakers but they took the strains in their strides. Mutu said that their findings after inspecting some of the mega projects being executed by the commission were revealing and instructive. “We now appreciate the need to commit more funds for the rapid development of the oil-rich region. What we have seen convinces us that the NDDC is making tremendous impact on the lives of the people. We will, therefore, urge the Federal Government to give the commission the financial muscle to be able to handle more big ticket projects,” Mutu said.
He underlined the fact that the Niger Delta terrain posed a big challenge to development agencies, noting that it made it difficult and expensive to execute projects in the region. In addition, he said, the long rainy season in the area affects the delivery time for projects. “We commend the NDDC for working against these odds and still delivering on its mandate of fast-tracking the development of the Niger Delta. In the light of this, we call on the Federal Government to encourage the commission by releasing the over N500 billion it is owing on outstanding statutory allocations to it,” he said. ( Continues below...... )
The Federal Government had consistently failed to adequately meet its statutory obligations to the NDDC since its inception in 2000. In spite of the provisions of the NDDC Establishment Act, which says that the Federal Government should contribute an equivalent of 15 per cent of the total amount accruable to the nine oil-producing states from the Federation Account, the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, unilaterally decided to pay only 10 per cent. The difference between what the law says and what Obasanjo decided to pay was what accumulated to an outstanding deficit of N244 billion at the time he left office.
The disregard for the law continued during late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s administration. As at 2009, the withheld funds had ballooned to a staggering N484, 450, 551, 137.91 billion. This apparent injustice forced the traditional rulers from the Niger Delta under the auspices of the Traditional Rulers of Oil Mineral Producing Communities of Nigeria [TRMPCON] to run to the courts to get the Federal Government to comply with its own laws.
At the site of some of the mega projects, the issue of poor funding continued to dominate discussions among the lawmakers. For Chief Barry Mpigi, representing Tai/Eleme Federal Constituency, the funding problem goes beyond the outstanding arrears of N500 billion. He said that actions on the Petroleum Industry Bill [PIB] should be finalised to provide another source of funding for the development of oil-producing communities.
Surprisingly, the acrimonious debate over the PIB bill at the National Assembly did not seem to affect the feelings of the members of the committee on NDDC, as they shared jokes on the attitude of some politicians in Abuja, whom they said seemed to be oblivious to the deleterious effects of oil exploitation in the Niger Delta. Perhaps, being outside the “hallowed chambers” of the National Assembly opened the eyes of the legislators to the realities of everyday living of ordinary Nigerians.
This connection with the feelings of ordinary Nigerians became stronger as they moved from one part of the oil-rich region to the other. They inspected 9 road projects including the 23.7 kilometer Owaza-Etche-Igwuruta Road and the 18.9 kilometre Erema Ring Road in Ogba/Egbema Ndoni Local Government Area, both in Rivers State. They also visited the Koko-Ugheaye-Escrovos Road, which would link Delta to Ondo State, with 6 bridges; the 28-kilometer Patani-Angoloma Road in Delta State and the Sampou-Odoni Road in Bayelsa State. In Imo State, they saw the 17-kilometre Ishinweke-Onicha River Road in Ihite Ubuma LGA and the 18-kilometre Obokofia internal roads in Ohaji/Egbema LGA. But the project that caught their attention was the Imo State University hostel project which was being painted, indicating that it was almost ready to be handed over.
However, a similar hostel project at the University of Benin in Edo State left a sour taste in the mouth. The lawmakers were disappointed with what they saw and they told the contractor to sit up or face sanctions. They looked in the direction of the Managing Director of the NDDC, Dr Christian Oboh, to get answers to why the contractor was not living up to expectations. He too appeared confounded by the poor performance of the contractor. He told the lawmakers that he found it difficult to understand why the contractor failed to deliver on agreed milestones after he had been adequately funded.
Dr Oboh said that the hostel project was one of those placed on fast-track by the current board of the commission to ensure that they were completed as quickly as possible. Shrugging off the depressing situation at the university of Benin hostel project, the NDDC MD assured the legislators that a number of other projects that were put on priority list had been completed and would be commissioned soon.
One of such projects is the Ewohime-Onicha Ugbo-Abudu Road, linking Delta and Edo states. The lawmakers who drove on the road and bridge were pleased and satisfied with the quality of job done. Dr Oboh was particularly delighted that a Nigerian contractor, Inter Bau, could record such a Grade A performance.
Another star project that is also virtually at the verge of commissioning is the Iko-Atabrikang-Opolom-Iwuo Achang road with a 600-metre bridge across the Qua Iboe River. The project links Iwuo Achang mainland to Okoroutip, a community of 13 villages, bringing civilisation to the riverine areas which were before now forgotten. It is also note worthy that this is the longest bridge being built by a Nigerian contractor, Viche Nigeria ltd, in the region.
This particular project was one of those inspected by members of the Senate Committee on the Niger Delta before the House of Representatives committee took their turn. A visibly excited Senator Manager said: “We, the Senators are happy and we have seen that the communities around here are happy too. This is a landmark project and it is very unique.” He also gave kudos to indigenous contractors and urged the NDDC to encourage such serious firms. It was not all about roads. The committee also inspected the Specialist and Orthopaedic hospital being built by the NDDC in Port Harcourt. Justifying the need for the hospital, the NDDC boss said:‘The people need to be healthy to savour the benefits of good roads and bridges.”
Dr Oboh told the law makers that the hospital comprised Orthopaedic and Cardiovascular units. He said that the project would be replicated in Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Delta states. “We want to reverse the trend of medical tourism in the Niger Delta. We want our people to begin to get their medical treatment from our specialist hospitals, instead of travelling overseas for their healthcare needs,” he said.
Mr. Ifeatu Agbu ( ifeatuagbu@yahoo.com ) writes from Port Harcourt, Nigeria
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| Nigeria National Assembly Complex |
That generally sums up the impressions of the senators after their one-week inspection tour of projects being executed by the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC in Abia, Cross River and Akwa Ibom states. The senators saw all there was to see. In some cases, they were satisfied. In others, they were disappointed. At the end of the day, Senator Manager still held on to his mantra: To God be the glory!
The Senate Committee which visited in February to monitor the state of NDDC projects in the Niger Delta, had hardly settled down in their red chamber when the members of the House of Representatives Committee on the NDDC came calling for their own round of inspections. The members of the House of Representative led by their chairman, Hon Nicholas Mutu inspected projects in 5 states over a period of 4 days. They were in Rivers, Imo, Edo, Delta and Bayelsa states. The committee performed a similar oversight function in October last year. Then, the committee said it was gathering information to assist it in fine-tuning the 2013 budget of the commission.
Traversing 5 states in just 4 days was hectic for the lawmakers but they took the strains in their strides. Mutu said that their findings after inspecting some of the mega projects being executed by the commission were revealing and instructive. “We now appreciate the need to commit more funds for the rapid development of the oil-rich region. What we have seen convinces us that the NDDC is making tremendous impact on the lives of the people. We will, therefore, urge the Federal Government to give the commission the financial muscle to be able to handle more big ticket projects,” Mutu said.
He underlined the fact that the Niger Delta terrain posed a big challenge to development agencies, noting that it made it difficult and expensive to execute projects in the region. In addition, he said, the long rainy season in the area affects the delivery time for projects. “We commend the NDDC for working against these odds and still delivering on its mandate of fast-tracking the development of the Niger Delta. In the light of this, we call on the Federal Government to encourage the commission by releasing the over N500 billion it is owing on outstanding statutory allocations to it,” he said. ( Continues below...... )
The Federal Government had consistently failed to adequately meet its statutory obligations to the NDDC since its inception in 2000. In spite of the provisions of the NDDC Establishment Act, which says that the Federal Government should contribute an equivalent of 15 per cent of the total amount accruable to the nine oil-producing states from the Federation Account, the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, unilaterally decided to pay only 10 per cent. The difference between what the law says and what Obasanjo decided to pay was what accumulated to an outstanding deficit of N244 billion at the time he left office.
The disregard for the law continued during late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s administration. As at 2009, the withheld funds had ballooned to a staggering N484, 450, 551, 137.91 billion. This apparent injustice forced the traditional rulers from the Niger Delta under the auspices of the Traditional Rulers of Oil Mineral Producing Communities of Nigeria [TRMPCON] to run to the courts to get the Federal Government to comply with its own laws.
At the site of some of the mega projects, the issue of poor funding continued to dominate discussions among the lawmakers. For Chief Barry Mpigi, representing Tai/Eleme Federal Constituency, the funding problem goes beyond the outstanding arrears of N500 billion. He said that actions on the Petroleum Industry Bill [PIB] should be finalised to provide another source of funding for the development of oil-producing communities.
Surprisingly, the acrimonious debate over the PIB bill at the National Assembly did not seem to affect the feelings of the members of the committee on NDDC, as they shared jokes on the attitude of some politicians in Abuja, whom they said seemed to be oblivious to the deleterious effects of oil exploitation in the Niger Delta. Perhaps, being outside the “hallowed chambers” of the National Assembly opened the eyes of the legislators to the realities of everyday living of ordinary Nigerians.
This connection with the feelings of ordinary Nigerians became stronger as they moved from one part of the oil-rich region to the other. They inspected 9 road projects including the 23.7 kilometer Owaza-Etche-Igwuruta Road and the 18.9 kilometre Erema Ring Road in Ogba/Egbema Ndoni Local Government Area, both in Rivers State. They also visited the Koko-Ugheaye-Escrovos Road, which would link Delta to Ondo State, with 6 bridges; the 28-kilometer Patani-Angoloma Road in Delta State and the Sampou-Odoni Road in Bayelsa State. In Imo State, they saw the 17-kilometre Ishinweke-Onicha River Road in Ihite Ubuma LGA and the 18-kilometre Obokofia internal roads in Ohaji/Egbema LGA. But the project that caught their attention was the Imo State University hostel project which was being painted, indicating that it was almost ready to be handed over.
However, a similar hostel project at the University of Benin in Edo State left a sour taste in the mouth. The lawmakers were disappointed with what they saw and they told the contractor to sit up or face sanctions. They looked in the direction of the Managing Director of the NDDC, Dr Christian Oboh, to get answers to why the contractor was not living up to expectations. He too appeared confounded by the poor performance of the contractor. He told the lawmakers that he found it difficult to understand why the contractor failed to deliver on agreed milestones after he had been adequately funded.
Dr Oboh said that the hostel project was one of those placed on fast-track by the current board of the commission to ensure that they were completed as quickly as possible. Shrugging off the depressing situation at the university of Benin hostel project, the NDDC MD assured the legislators that a number of other projects that were put on priority list had been completed and would be commissioned soon.
One of such projects is the Ewohime-Onicha Ugbo-Abudu Road, linking Delta and Edo states. The lawmakers who drove on the road and bridge were pleased and satisfied with the quality of job done. Dr Oboh was particularly delighted that a Nigerian contractor, Inter Bau, could record such a Grade A performance.
Another star project that is also virtually at the verge of commissioning is the Iko-Atabrikang-Opolom-Iwuo Achang road with a 600-metre bridge across the Qua Iboe River. The project links Iwuo Achang mainland to Okoroutip, a community of 13 villages, bringing civilisation to the riverine areas which were before now forgotten. It is also note worthy that this is the longest bridge being built by a Nigerian contractor, Viche Nigeria ltd, in the region.
This particular project was one of those inspected by members of the Senate Committee on the Niger Delta before the House of Representatives committee took their turn. A visibly excited Senator Manager said: “We, the Senators are happy and we have seen that the communities around here are happy too. This is a landmark project and it is very unique.” He also gave kudos to indigenous contractors and urged the NDDC to encourage such serious firms. It was not all about roads. The committee also inspected the Specialist and Orthopaedic hospital being built by the NDDC in Port Harcourt. Justifying the need for the hospital, the NDDC boss said:‘The people need to be healthy to savour the benefits of good roads and bridges.”
Dr Oboh told the law makers that the hospital comprised Orthopaedic and Cardiovascular units. He said that the project would be replicated in Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Delta states. “We want to reverse the trend of medical tourism in the Niger Delta. We want our people to begin to get their medical treatment from our specialist hospitals, instead of travelling overseas for their healthcare needs,” he said.
Mr. Ifeatu Agbu ( ifeatuagbu@yahoo.com ) writes from Port Harcourt, Nigeria
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