Infrastructure revival: NDDC, U.S. firm sign MoU to connect Niger Delta States by rail

…As Minister lauds NDDC for adopting PPP model

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States Consulate and a United States-based firm, Atlanta Global Resources Inc., AGRI, to build a railway network that will connect the nine states of the Niger Delta region.

The ceremony, which was a part of the one-day Public Private Partnerships Summit organised by the Commission in Lagos on Tuesday, will provide locomotives, construct railway lines and operate same in the oil producing states of Rivers, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Imo and Abia.

The MOU was signed by the managing director/CEO of the NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, on behalf of the Commission, Mr. Chamberlain Eke, on behalf of the United States Consulate, and Mr. Tony Akpele, on behalf of AGRI.

Work on the preliminary stages of the project, perhaps the biggest in the history of the Commission, is expected to start immediately.

Speaking at the summit, Dr. Ogbuku disclosed that the NDDC was determined to renavigate the process of its intervention in the Niger Delta so that it can achieve its mandate “of facilitating the rapid, even and sustainable development of the Niger Delta into a region that is economically prosperous, socially stable, ecologically regenerative and politically peaceful.”

He stated that the MOU represented a big harvest for the NDDC from the PPP Summit.

In his goodwill message at the summit, former NDDC Managing Director, Chief Timi Alaibe, expressed delight at the PPP initiative taken by the new leadership of the Commission.

He said, “This is the first time in 15 years that I am attending an NDDC function. This is because the new board is charting a new course that is impressive.”

He added, “Far back, after the implementation of the Master Plan, we decided on an implementation plan which involved all key stakeholders. We decided that the Master Plan cannot be funded by the government alone. We needed the private sector, that is why I support holding the summit in Lagos, Nigeria’s financial capital. The concept of rewinding and rebirth is sweet to the ears.”

Also speaking during the summit, the former Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, commended the NDDC for admitting that it had suffered from goal displacement.

He said, “The NDDC Management and the Board have shown courage by putting the Summit together. The NDDC has our prayers and support. What is missing is not the ideas, but the courage.”

In another goodwill message, the former Managing Director of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, applauded the NDDC Board and Management for striving to leave legacies in the region.

According to him, “the founding fathers of the NDDC intended that the NDDC should be a catalyst for development. The PPP arrangement is a new way of getting good results. There must be a fusion between the private sector and the public sector. It is important to bring in the resources and expertise of the private sector.”

Meanwhile, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Obong Umana Okon Umana, has commended the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, for adopting the Public Private Partnership model as a vehicle for driving the sustainable development of the Niger Delta region.

Speaking during the one-day Public Private Partnerships, PPP, summit organised by the Commission at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, Umana said that it was in line with the emphasis of Federal Government to harness the expertise and energies of all stakeholders and partners in all efforts to develop the Niger Delta region.

The Minister said the summit was in tandem with his Action Plan to reset and reposition the NDDC, stating, “We also set in motion an era of accountability and transparency by publishing in national newspapers, a list of 2,506 completed projects executed by the Commission under the Buhari administration from 2015 to 2022.”

Umana noted that the Ministry and the NDDC alone would not be able to meet all the development needs and aspirations of the Niger Delta people.

“For us to effectively address the development challenges of the region,” he said, “we need the support and partnership of the private sector to complement our efforts. The private sector is vital in providing capital, technology, innovation, expertise, and employment opportunities for the region.”

Declaring the summit open, the Minister said he was hopeful that it would serve as a platform for fruitful discussions and interactions that would lead to concrete actions and outcomes.

Speaking earlier, the NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, stated that the Commission decided to adopt the PPP model to provide alternative sources of funding for key development projects and programmes.

He said, “As part of our efforts to renew and reposition the NDDC, the Governing Board stepped up the collaboration with various stakeholders. We have started engagement with the key stakeholders, such as the oil companies who contribute three per cent of their operational budget to the Commission; the state governments; traditional rulers; Civil Society Groups; youth organisations and Contractors.

“We are showing in our operations, through our example and conduct, how diligence, due process and transparency are key ingredients to building confidence and trust among all partners and stakeholders. We are committed to not just being transparent, but we want to be seen to be transparent.”

Ogbuku stated that the Commission’s ‘Rewind to Rebirth’ initiative, which is the theme of the summit, “is a strategic vision designed to recalibrate our engagement with the Niger Delta and the Commission’s overall intervention implementation plan. Embedded in this initiative include exploring more avenues for funding, for better technical expertise, for higher yielding varieties of crops, as well as opportunities for collaboration and investment in the Niger Delta region.”

He added, “We have started commissioning completed projects. Recently, we commissioned three roads in Bayelsa State to mark the beginning of many other project inaugurations across the nine Niger Delta States.

“In the coming weeks, some of our major projects will be commissioned. Among this is the the 132/33kv sub-station constructed by the Commission in Okitipupa, which will provide electricity for over 2,000 communities spread across five local government areas of Ondo State.”

The NDDC boss noted that “another key project that is ready for inauguration is the Ogbia-Nembe Road, which was jointly funded by Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, and the NDDC.”

In his keynote address, the Executive Secretary of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Wabote, stressed that for partnerships to be successful, they must be based on proper analysis and studies.

In his own remarks, the NDDC Executive Director Projects, Mr. Charles Ogunmola, said that the vision of the Commission was to drive sustainable development, noting that over the past 22years it has struggled to live up to this mandate due to poor funding.