By Queen Kunde
Former Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and ex-Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, has revealed shocking details about the suffocating bureaucracy, political interference, and lack of continuity crippling the NDDC a body established to drive development in the Niger Delta.
Speaking during the inaugural edition of The Exchange Podcast hosted by Femi Soneye, Ndoma-Egba described the commission as a “classic example of how over-centralized control and red tape can destroy good intentions.”
In a startling disclosure, he recounted learning from the NDDC Managing Director that it once took 62 signatures for a single contractor to be paid. “I initially heard 53, but I was corrected, it was 62,” he said. “What is the implication of that? Serious bureaucracy. And what does serious bureaucracy breed? Inefficiency. And what does inefficiency breed? Corruption.”
The former NDDC boss explained that corruption in the commission is often “opportunistic,” emerging from layers of inefficiency that invite exploitation. “It’s not always premeditated — people simply take advantage of the chaos,” he noted.
Ndoma-Egba lamented that the NDDC, though established with noble intentions, has been operating without a functional master plan. He recalled that the commission once developed a comprehensive regional development blueprint, crafted through consultations with communities, state governments, oil companies, and the federal government but it was abandoned “almost immediately” after its launch.
“It’s like building a house without a plan,” he said. “The NDDC has been walking in the dark, groping without direction. The abandonment of the master plan was for political convenience because many see the commission as a share of the national cake.”
The former chairman also revealed that his reform efforts were cut short when his board was dissolved without notice. “We had set up a committee to revive the master plan, but one morning, I learned from the news that the board was dissolved no letter, no reason, nothing,” he said, describing the instability as one of the commission’s biggest setbacks.
He narrated how thugs once disrupted a planned investigative panel after the NDDC Contractors Association publicly alleged they had to pay bribes to receive payments. “We were to inaugurate the panel at Hotel Presidential in Port Harcourt, but thugs invaded the venue and chased everyone away,” he said.
As a solution, Ndoma-Egba recommended that NDDC boards and management teams should be allowed to complete their statutory four-year terms to ensure stability, proper planning, and accountability.
“When leadership is constantly uncertain, people can’t plan; they just survive. But when you give them the security of tenure, they can focus on reforms and deliver development that lasts,” he concluded.
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