Niger Delta: Citizen’s Report Highlights Failures Of Development Agencies … Demands Accountability, Transparency

By Oladipo Airenakho

Civil Society Organizations, Non Governmental Organizations and the media have been urged to assist in bringing the plights of communities in the Niger Delta to the attention of those directly managing the region’s development institutions.

This message was one of the outcomes of a citizen’s report card on Niger Delta Development Agencies, shared at the two-day workshop organized by Environmental rights group, Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND).

The workshop which took place in Benin City recently was aimed at improving Civil Society’s capacity for engaging these government institutions.

According to ANEEJ’s program Officer, Mr. Innocent Edemanria, documentations and analysis of captured data regarding impact of development projects executed by the Niger Delta development institutions for various communities in the region have indicated a below average performance.

The report focused on provision of health, education, water and electricity by such agencies as the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Delta State Oil and Gas Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOGPADEC), and Edo State Oil and Gas Producing Areas Development Commission (EDSOGPADEC).

According to the report, apart from non considerations of the needs of the communities in the choice of development interventions undertaken by these agencies, instances abound of poor planning and failures to properly incorporate community residents in the region into the development decision process.

Aside of these factors militating against proper development of communities in the Niger Delta region, the study also revealed a clear lack of transparency in the operations of the development institutions created to serve the region.

The conclusion of the citizen’s report card therefore was that the Niger Delta agencies created to serve as development vehicle for communities in the region have not contributed significantly to the improvement of lives of the people and therefore need to be re-focused.
Host communities in the Niger Delta, it was agreed,

could no longer rely on confrontation with those at the helms of affairs of these agencies and therefore needed a new form of constructive engagement that takes into cognizance the potentials and roles such organizations as CSO, NGO, and the media can play.

Roles such as demanding for accountability and transparency from those saddled with the responsibility of handling these Niger Delta development agencies and exposing areas of interests to the various communities in the region were some of the recommendations made by the study.

“Plights of these Niger Delta communities could be better presented and championed by these organizations for optimum performance of the agencies established for the development of the region,” the study added.

In an address at the occasion, the Special Assistant to Governor Adams Oshiomhole on Oil and Gas, Princess Iku Erediauwa expressed the state government’s support for increased citizen’s demand for accountability from Niger Delta development agencies that have not performed well in their mandates of bringing development to the people.

“Edo state Governor Adams Oshiomhole has always been at the forefront of the campaign for accountability in governance in Nigeria and he will therefore support any group that shares his view on the matter, “she added.

Also speaking at the workshop, another representative of Edo State government and Senior Special Assistant to Governor Adams Oshiomhole on Civil Society Organizations [CSO], Mr.Efosa Kayode-Iyasere strongly advocated accountability from these agencies saying it is the rights of the people and not a priviledge.

‘’Accountability should be demanded from these agencies. We must begin to demand. It is our rights and not a privilege,’’ he told participants while urging them to take the message back home to their people living in various Niger Delta communities.’’