JUST-IN: Over N612bn N’Delta projects cancelled, abandoned – NDDC report

A total of 1,587 projects valued at N612.4bn that are under the Niger Delta Development Commission have been terminated and abandoned in the Niger Delta region, a report from the NDDC, obtained by TrackNews has revealed.

Data from the report specifically showed that 1,262 projects in the region valued at N407.75bn had been terminated, while 325 projects with a combined worth of N204.64bn had been stalled or abandoned.

The report indicated that the percentages of the total contract values of the terminated and stalled/abandoned projects were 7.4 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively.

In the July 2023 report titled, ‘A sea of opportunities in the Niger Delta region’, put together by the NDDC-PPP Committee and obtained by our correspondent, the scorecard of the NDDC was revealed.

The report gave a breakdown of projects in the region that had been completed, ongoing, not yet started, stalled/abandoned, terminated and taken over by other agencies.

It stated that a total of 7,140 NDDC projects, valued at N1.66tn, representing 41.9 per cent of the total contract value in the region had been completed in the Niger Delta.

The number of ongoing projects, according to the report, is 3,251, with a total worth of N1.5tn, representing 19.1 per cent of the total contract value of projects being handled by the commission.

The report stated that 5,035 projects valued at N1.45tn, representing 29.5 per cent of the total contract value, had not yet been implemented.

It said the number of projects that had been taken over by other agencies was 32, with a worth of N21.55bn, representing 0.2 per cent of the total contract value.

“It was against the above premise that the current board and management, in its bid to do things differently so as to effectively drive sustainable development in the region, decided to espouse the Public Private Partnership model to provide alternative sources of funding for key developmental projects and programmes,” the report read in part.

It added, “Consequently, a management committee on public private partnership, called the Public Private Partnership Committee, was constituted by the Managing Director/CEO on January 18, 2023.”

In July, the Managing Director, NDDC, Samuel Ogbuku, said the aim of the dialogue organised by the commission was to get the collaboration of stakeholders and development partners in promoting greater synergy for enhanced results in the oil-rich region.

He explained that the NDDC policy dialogue was part of a deliberate effort by the commission to deepen relationships with development partners and the private sector, to close gaps in sustainable development in the region.

“This is through the coordination of development interventions for improved effectiveness and impact,” Ogbuku had stated.

Also, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Shuaib Belgore, had stated that the dialogue was one of many strategies designed by the ministry and the NDDC to “fast-track the development of the Niger Delta region through extra-budgetary provisions aimed at meeting socio-economic needs in the region