Imperatives of Coordinated Institutional Framework for Niger DeltaDevelopment.
The Niger Delta region needs an organizational commitment and institutional cohesion to be capable of creating, investing and organizing strategic application of innovation, in its quest of promoting skilled labour through work, social capacities, social capabilities and consistent institutional linkages.
All these can be enabled by the strengths of institutional frameworks powered by regulatory competencies, which in turn defines political willingness, human knowledge management, proper coordination of environmental conditions and conditioning, as well as validation of baseline surveys of social and infrastructural resource base.
In tackling the Niger Delta debacle and its attendant problems such as poverty, youth unemployment and restiveness, environmental degradation, infrastructural deficit and general underdevelopment, these parameters must work in tandem, today and every other day that will come.
The Federal Government, in its efforts to institutionalize her reach to helping the region tackle its peculiar challenges, has established a firmer cohesion between the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs (MNDA) and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), with the Niger Delta Ministry playing the supervisory role in the activities of the NDDC.
This will create more success stories. Considering the past activities of these institutions’ work, we discover that financial allocation has never been the primary problem of developing the region. Rather it is the lack of political will, coupled with unnecessary project duplication of 98% between the MNDA and the NDDC, sandwiched by knowledge mismanagement and environmental conditioning, that is responsible for the current underdevelopment of the region.
From 2009-2015, four hundred and twenty-seven (427) projects costing N700, 538,741,691 has been awarded by the ministry. Of this budgetary sum, over 60% has been spent already. Yet, only 12% of these projects have been completed since, with only one (a cassava processing mill in Ondo) commissioned, 18% of these projects stalled and 70% under construction; for projects that require about 5yrs to complete. With money disbursed so far, the remaining N279bn is grossly inadequate to complete all projects under construction.
Not only that, the impact of these projects on the lives of the people is just 8%; with Road construction taking 87%, Training (Human Development) 0.87%, Conservation and Development of Coastal Ecosystem 0.03%, Water Scheme 0.32%, Rehabilitation and Remediation of Oil Impacted sites 0.16%, Skill Acquisition Centers 4.39%, Consultancy 2.13%, Food and Cassava Processing Plants 0.18%, Electrification 0.34%, Canalization 0.86% and Housing Scheme 1.05%.
Additionally, project duplication by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs (MNDA), the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Amnesty Programme, and the various State Programmes is very high. In reference to the Ministry’s project, percentage of project duplication by the NDDC is 98%, Amnesty Programm 90%, and State programmes 85%. This tells lack of harmonization in the prioritization of projects between these entities, so as to collectively develop the region from different fronts, to specialize their reach on the needs of the people.
From these account, we can derive that the poverty in the region does not merely have its solution in the availability of financial capital, but primarily in the continual strengthening of institutional frameworks designed to oversee the region’s development.
It is advantageous to know the following, in terms of capital project distribution across states since the Niger Delta Ministry was formed to 2015, that; that Rivers State has got 43%, Delta 26%, Akwa Ibom 7%, Abia 7%, Imo 6%, Bayelsa 3%, Ondo 4%, Edo 2% and Cross River 2%.
It is hence hopeful that the administration of the Niger Delta region will be in clear adherence to the mandate of the ministry; which is to serve as the primary vehicle for the execution of Government’s plans and programmes for rapid socio-economic development of the region. To formulate and execute plans, programmes and other initiatives as well as to coordinate the activities of agencies, communities, donors and other relevant stakeholders involved in the development of the region.
The Minister, Usani Uguru Usani has said "the direction of my work towards the mandate of the Ministry is to foster the realization of self-worth in every indigene of the Niger Delta for the sole purpose of positive living and synergy between the nation state and the Niger Delta region; and to anchor such on the common ethics of humanity. To further create ownership of sectoral development; and building such on political, social and economic tools towards a virile, efficient and sustainable regional economy".
We are optimistic that better days are ahead.
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