NASS May Review NDDC Act Over Governance Framework

The National Assembly (NASS) may review the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Act of 2002 to include the comprehensive governance framework recently approved by the commission’s governing board.

This is because the federal government has directed all regional development commissions to develop master plans for their respective regions.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on NDDC, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, disclosed this yesterday at the 2026 NDDC Partnership for Sustainable Development (PSD) conference in Port Harcourt.

The conference with the theme: “Synergy for Transformation: Aligning Regional Development, Local Governance and Sustainable Partnership in the Niger Delta” was attended by stakeholders in the region.

Ekpenyong said, “We are planning to see how these documents can be embedded in the Act under an amendment. That is how important we find the work that is being done here. The truth is, no institution should run on the goodwill or moral compass of just individuals.

“The current chairman and the current managing director of the NDDC today are fine gentlemen with strong moral compass and strong convictions, but tomorrow, we may find a different set of people at the helm of affairs, and so, the commission from now and forever.

“This year’s theme, ‘Synergy for Transformation’, is quite apt. When we gathered at this forum last year, I spoke about the importance of bringing together the key players in our region and ensuring that the NDDC development priorities reflect the needs and aspirations of our people.

“One year later, that message is even more relevant. The conversation must now go beyond partnership as an idea to a partnership that produced measurable transformation.”

In his remarks, the minister of Regional Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh directed all the regional development commissions in the country to develop master plans for their respective regions.

Momoh said, “We must establish a shared regional development framework consistent with the draft national policy on regional development. The NDDC, the federal government, state institutions, other regional development commissions, development partners and the private sector should strengthen the alignment of their plans and investments

“I also want to use this opportunity to make some clarifications; all the development commissions in Nigeria have as their first priority to establish a masterplan that will act as a compass with which they click to execute projects they want to.”

He stated that the value of the conference will be measured by what changes are on the ground.

“The value of this forum will ultimately be measured by what changes are on the ground. We must establish a shared regional development framework consistent with the draft national policy on regional development.

The NDDC, the federal government, state institutions, other regional development commissions, development partners and the private sector should strengthen the alignment of their plans and investments.

“A common view of priorities supported by reliable data and linked to the Niger Delta regional development masterplan will enable us to identify gaps, sequence interventions and when concentrating several projects in one location, while urgent needs elsewhere remain unattended,” the minister said.

Earlier in his welcome address, NDDC managing director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, emphasised the need for stronger collaboration and sustainable partnerships among stakeholders to accelerate human capital and infrastructural development across the Niger Delta region.

Ogbuku said the conference would give the NDDC an opportunity to account to the people of the Niger Delta for its stewardship.

He urged stakeholders to actively participate in the discussions, contribute constructive ideas, and critically appraise the Commission’s activities to achieve collective progress in the region.

Ogbuku described the conference as a platform for accountability, transparency and probity, noting that the Commission had made significant progress over the years.

According to him, the absence of a comprehensive governance framework had been one of the challenges that contributed to failures within the Commission in the past, and the new framework would provide clear guidelines for NDDC management and staff while also regulating stakeholder expectations and demands.

He explained that the governance framework was designed to serve as an institutional safeguard for the Commission and protect its development mandate from practices that could undermine the interests of the Niger Delta region.