The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has marked the 25th anniversary of its establishment. The week-long celebration, which had the theme “Telling Our Story: From Transaction to Transformation”, was concluded in grand style in Port Harcourt on Saturday, July 12, 2015, with eye-catching cultural displays.
The week that began on Sunday, 6th July 2025, with a Thanksgiving Service held at St. Thomas Anglican Church, Akure, the Ondo State Capital, also witnessed the launch of a book in honour of the NDDC Executive Director, Corporate Services, Hon. Ifedayo Abegunde, who recently turned 70.
Other highlights of the programme for the event included a World Press Briefing, a Movie Premiere, a Youth and Women Conference, and Arts and Culture Day spread across days and member states.
On Wednesday, 9th July, 2025, the celebration train moved to Owerri, Imo State, where the focus was essentially on Youth and Women of the Niger Delta region, as well as presentation of papers by a former President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture NACCIMA), Mr. Dele Kevin Oye Esq., an entrepreneur and gender crusader, and Dr. Chinyere Uchenna Ordu.
Speaking in Owerri on the essence of the anniversary, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, said it was a moment for stocktaking, showcasing the achievements of the NDDC’s impacts over the past 25 years, highlighting infrastructure development, human capital development, and community empowerment programmes.
The Silver Jubilee celebration, according to him, also aims to reflect the Commission’s journey, reaffirm its commitment to the Niger Delta, assess the challenges, and look towards future growth.
He said, “We started this celebration with a Thanksgiving in Ondo State. We thought we needed to appreciate God first. We had a World Press Conference in Asaba where we interacted with the media community on what we’ve done so far; and here we are today in Imo State for interface with youths and women from the nine Niger Delta States. They cannot be neglected. We want to assure them that the NDDC has turned a new leaf to start a new journey of growth, development, prosperity and inclusion.”
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The MD thanked all stakeholders and especially President Bola Tinubu for his generous support to the NDDC and the Niger Delta through people-oriented policies of the Renewed Hope Agenda. He stated that it was the obligation and determination of the present board to meet its mandate and expectations of the people, for Change that drives the present administration.
“The present Management has shifted the focus of the Commission from transactional mentality to that of transformation, and has been proactive and committed to translating its vision and meeting set targets. As a commission, we’ve recorded huge successes; we’ve learnt from our mistakes; and we are determined to improve upon the successes and correct our mistakes for a better NDDC of the future.”
Dr. Ogbuku, whose tenure is the 7th from the inception of the NDDC, listed some of the achievements of the present Management to include the launch of Project-Hope, construction of roads, provision of solar street lights; launch of a portal for a database for youths, women, and other beneficiaries, empowerment of youths and women, etc.
Also in his remarks, the Chairman of the Governing Board of the NDDC, Mr. Chiedu Ebie, described the achievements of the Commission in the last two and a half decades as a milestone in the socioeconomic transformation of the NDDC and the entire Niger Delta region. He noted that this has resulted in trailblazing innovations, an infrastructure renaissance, scholarship awards, empowerment packages and vocational training for youths and women, and the general scorecard of the Commission since its establishment twenty-five years ago.
The NDDC was established in 2001 during the administration of the former president of the country, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. It had the mandate “to facilitate rapid, even, and sustainable development of the Niger Delta into a region that is economically prosperous, socially stable, and ecologically regenerative.” A 15-year master plan was also designed to guide its policy thrust and operations. Areas captured in the plan included demography, environment and hydrology, agriculture, biodiversity, infrastructure, and transportation. Others were rural, urban, regional planning and housing; energy; telecommunication; vocational training (with a focus on employment generation); waste management and sanitation; large-scale industry; solid minerals; tourism; and social welfare.
In a related development, approximately four months before the 25th Anniversary, the NDDC launched what it called an Integrated Master Plan to replace the old 15-year Master Plan that had expired in 2020. This was disclosed during the NDDC 2025 Board and Management Strategic Retreat held in Lagos in February 2025. Components of the New Master Plan, as was earlier explained by Lead Consultant for the project, Dr. Atei Beredugo, during a two-day workshop on Harmonisation of the Niger Delta Regional Development Strategy for Directors of the Ministry of Niger Delta Development and the NDDC, held in Uyo in September 2024, included seven pillars he identified as Finance, Security, Economy (infrastructure), Agriculture, Oil and Gas, and Good Governance.
Our reporter gathered that it was at the Uyo Summit that NDDC’s Director of Planning, Research, and Statistics, Mr. Davies Okarevu, also hinted that the expected New Master Plan was to be known as the “Niger Delta Regional Development Strategy.” He said the new document was designed to align with the Niger Delta Development Master Plan, the Ministry of Niger Delta Development Action Plan, and the International Oil Companies Regional Plan, and in collaboration with the newly created South-South Development Commission (SSDC).
Emphasising the necessity for the new master plan, Dr. Ogbuku had, during the same summit, said the commission cannot meet its objectives without a compass to direct its activities. On 20th February, 2025, the new stakeholder-inspired Regional Development Master Plan was adopted. The document was jointly signed by the Chairman of NDDC, Mr. Chiedu Ebie, and the MD/CEO, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku.
The formal adoption of the New Master Plan, however, had elicited questions. One is about what has guided the Commission since 2020, when the old one expired. Commentators are, however, of the view that the NDDC still has much to worry about.
In 2021, a special panel was set up for a forensic audit of the NDDC covering the period from 2001 to 2019. According to the report, which was submitted to the former president on September 2, 2021, it was revealed that a total of six trillion naira has been invested in the NDDC within the period under review, representing N3,375,735,776,794.93 in budgetary allocation and N2,420,948,804,191.00 as income from statutory and non-statutory sources.
Further breakdown shows that the Commission, as of then, had 326 unreconciled bank accounts and 13,777 abandoned contracts.
In the spirit of the Silver Jubilee Anniversary of the Commission, Dr. Ogbuku had assured Nigerians, and Niger Deltans in particular, that the past was gone as the incumbent board was driven by transparency and accountability in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to change narratives, and usher the region into a new dawn.
