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Common visitors to the corporate headquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State are seeing alterations about the commission. Several items have changed within and outside the premises it certainly looks distinct. There is a new air around the vicinity and members of employees. But the real adjustments are not necessarily physical it is how the new NDDC now functions.
The era when contracts are literarily hawked around the commission’s headquarters on Aba Road, when touts, hangers-on and praise singers take up strategic positions around the NDDC premises awaiting the ‘big men’ to pass via and throw wads of naira at them like some American rappers are gone.
This new NDDC rekindles hope in the individuals of the region, regardless of the dirty politics by some stakeholders, who incorporate governors. The awakening of the sleeping giant from its ennui towards the achievement of its core mandate, that is development of the oil-rich area, was foretold in February, when the board held a retreat for management and members of employees of the commission.
The retreat provided the Mr. Nsima-Ekere-led commission along with the board, chaired by Ndoma Egba, the avenue to unfurl its agenda, hinged on the 4Rs of restructuring its balance sheet, reforming governance protocol, restoring the core mandate of the commission and re-affirming a commitment to performing what is right and proper.
Topics discussed at the retreat revolved largely round the challenge of "corruption in the system", how to initiate and execute projects that are useful to the individuals and not to serve interests how to assure transparency and redemption of the commission’s image in the eyes of the public.
Erstwhile Director-General, Bureau for Pubic Service Reform, Dr. Joe Abah, stated at the retreat that the NDDC of the previous was the worst-managed government organisation he ever saw. It was a damning assessment from the respected reformer, who saw lots of dirty government agencies and helped in their cleansing.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Ekere agreed. He lamented the image of corruption the mention of NDDC in the region and beyond conjured, and vowed that his group would operate assiduously to correct the image and restore self-confidence in the commission.
To this end, the management met with dozens of development partners, which culminated in the signing of Memorandum of Understanding with BudgIT and the UK’s DFID-funded Oxford Policy Management Restricted, amongst other individuals.
The OPML implements the Facility for Oil Sector Transparency and Reform in Nigeria, although BudgIT is a Nigerian civic technology organisation that operates towards raising the normal of transparency in institutions such as the NDDC, as effectively as engagement of citizens towards ensuring accountability in public finance. The MoUs, signed in May well, raised the bar for the commission’s budgeting approach as effectively as open it to public scrutiny and participation as in no way before.
Below the terms of the MoU, BudgIT worked with NDDC to create ‘Open Spending budget Systems’ platform and the implementation of an efficient Public Information Dissemination programme. It generally assisted the NDDC to create an on the web portal for the NDDC Open Spending budget Technique, successfully communicate the transparency initiatives of the NDDC, engage policymakers, private sector actors and the public about initiatives of NDDC.
The crucial objectives and positive aspects of the collaboration, according to the two sides, involve: improvement to NDDC reporting method, strengthening accountability, improvements to prioritisation of projects and budgeting, improving transparency and disciplined spending.
It will also provide assistance for project monitoring and evaluation, engender stakeholder engagement and typically promote worth for revenue. These are regions that are vital to the core mandate of the commission, which is to facilitate fast and sustainable improvement of the Niger Delta region.
BudgIT has a reputation for transparency initiatives and it extensively works to spur members of the public to demand answers on spending budget and fund utilisation. BudgIT urges the public to ask inquiries about the nation’s resources and how their taxes are becoming utilised in provision of infrastructure and public services.
The MoU aims at encouraging the NDDC to take steps to institutionalise proactive disclosure of public information and info, and partner with it to develop and execute relevant engagement programme in the communities of the area.
Ekere described the MoU as a milestone for the management’s and board’s broad plan of action to strengthen NDDC for the achievements of its core mandate.
"We at NDDC will continue to remain true to our commitment to constantly engage with crucial stakeholders and partners towards the overarching goal of the improvement of the individuals and the area of the Niger Delta," he said.
Apart from, he noted that the partnership was in line with the Federal Government’s membership of the Open Government Partnership and its commitments towards making certain that government and its institutions make a strong commitment to promote transparency and accountability fight corruption and use new technologies to strengthen governance and empower citizens.
"The anticipated outcomes of this initiative are to guarantee that not only is genuine change taking place within the NDDC and in the Niger Delta region but that this transform is benefitting citizens," the MD mentioned.
This initiative with BudgIT not only serves as a distinctive platform for public governance transparency reforms and illustrates the NDDC’s management’s determination and readiness for openness in its operations, but it has also provided a framework of a great deal-needed modify that assists the NDDC and its stakeholders choose what is most relevant in their regional contexts thereby major to the successive tackling of a diversity of troubles and a multiplicity of approaches taken.
Ekere additional stated: "Beyond the deliverables outlined in the MoU, we at the NDDC hope that this collaboration with BudgIT, will outcome, among a lot of other factors, in assisting management focus efforts and resources on social outcomes that seriously matter to the individuals of the Niger Delta.
"We hope to develop a powerful and broad-primarily based transformative program that serves to provide citizens with extra details about how NDDC functions and thereby allow them to be much more informed and engaged and far better capable to hold NDDC to account. By this initiative, we hope to send a strong and clear message to the individuals of the Niger Delta, Nigerians at substantial and the international community that we at the NDDC are committed to doing the suitable point regarding very good governance."
The commission also teamed with the Oxford Policy Management Restricted as element of its efforts towards provision of services to strengthen management system and delivery of developmental projects in the area. Oxford is funded by the Direct Foreign Investment Division (DFID) of the United Kingdom and implements the Facility for Oil Sector Transparency and Reform in Nigeria.
