Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, has called for more strategic collaborations with International Oil Companies, IOCs, to energise the drive for the sustainable development of the Niger Delta region.
Speaking during a meeting convened by the Minister of Niger Delta Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, between the Ministry of Niger Delta Development, the NDDC and IOCs, Ogbuku urged multinationals to consider embarking on more projects in collaboration with the NDDC in the region.
The NDDC boss explained that such collaborations would further fast-track the development of various communities in Nigeria’s oil-rich region.
While appreciating the contributions made so far by the IOCs, Ogbuku stated that delivering legacy projects in the region had become too expensive for any one organisation to handle and as such, required collaborative efforts.
He encouraged the IOCs to consider making their remittances in bulk as the quarterly payments do not allow for efficient planning and achievement of projects and programmes.
According to him, the way NDDC receives the money from IOCs makes it difficult for efficiency, and appealed that the multinationals should find a way of remitting their statutory contributions in bulk.
Ogbuku also appealed for partnership with the oil companies for the development of the communities in their operational areas and Niger Delta Region at large.
He cited the Ogbia-Nembe Road project, which was a partnership between the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited and the NDDC, urging other oil companies operating in the region to emulate the initiative.
Earlier, the Minister of Niger Delta Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, enumerated the oversight function of the Ministry in bringing together all stakeholders in delivering sustainable development of the Niger Delta region.
The Minister frowned at the attitude displayed by some of the oil companies that do not prioritise the development of host communities, wondering why the oil companies in the Niger Delta have not considered the construction of the road from Warri to Escravos and other such projects in the region.
Momoh charged oil companies to be prompt in remitting their 3percent annual oil returns to the NDDC without fail as the Commission could not perform optimally without adequate funding.
Responding, the Deputy Managing Director of Nigeria Agip Oil Company, Dr Richard Orianzi, said that the IOCs do their best to meet the statutory obligation of remitting three per cent of their total annual budget to the NDDC.
He commended the recent moves by the new Executive Management of the NDDC in reaching out to the OICs and in seeking more robust engagements to quicken development in oil-producing communities where the companies operate.
