The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Development of the Niger Delta Region

This paper examines the attempts by the people and governments of Nigeria to address the highly vexing and contentious issue of resource control and the development of the Niger Delta Region in Nigeria highlighting early attempts via the COR State Movement,the Willinck's Commission of the Ephemeral OMPADEC intervention in the 1980s. The primary reason for the failure of previous attempts at developing the Niger Delta Region, the paper contends. resides in the dialectics of the character and disposition of those implementing the multifarious pOlicies institutionalised to address the issues involved in the underdevelopment of the region. From this basic premise. the paper concludes. it is now left for the authorities of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to learn from the dysfunction ofOlviPADEC. restructure the objectives of the NDDC to create a meaningful role for (i) the native population (ii) the multinationals operating in the region and (iii) the Non Governmental Organisations like the World Environment .\1ovement for Africa (WEMFA) and the All-Africa Community Development and Environmental Protection Agency (MCDEPA) if the newly created NDDC is to succeed. The paper is of the view that once the incontrovertible facts are accepted and the NDDC authorities have the political will to implement the policies of the Federal Government without any modicum of hypocrisy, the Niger Delta Region will experience rapid sustainable development