Former Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and ex–Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, has exposed what he described as crippling bureaucracy and political interference frustrating development efforts in the Niger Delta.
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Speaking on The Exchange Podcast hosted by journalist Femi Soneye, Ndoma-Egba disclosed that at a point during his tenure, a contractor required 62 different signatures before payment could be processed in the commission.
According to him, the situation not only encouraged delays but created fertile ground for corruption and inefficiency within the system.
“What does that imply? Serious bureaucracy. And what does serious bureaucracy breed? Inefficiency. What does inefficiency breed? Corruption,” he said.
The former lawmaker recalled receiving conflicting figures first 53, then later corrected to 62 for the number of desk stops involved in payment approval.
Ndoma-Egba lamented that although the NDDC master plan was developed after extensive consultations with communities, state governments, oil companies, and the Federal Government, it was abandoned immediately after launch.
He noted that the commission still operates without a working master plan, likening it to constructing a house without a blueprint.
“The lack of a master plan means the commission is just walking in the dark, unable to effectively integrate an entire region economically,” he said.
He added that structural and institutional dysfunctions have plagued the NDDC since inception, making meaningful development extremely difficult.
Ndoma-Egba disclosed that attempts to revive the master plan through a reform committee were abruptly halted when his board was dissolved through a news bulletin, without any formal communication from the Presidency or supervising ministry.
He said such arbitrary dissolutions erode continuity and short-termism becomes the order of the day.
“When you keep dissolving boards arbitrarily, you destroy continuity and institutional memory,” he warned.
The former Senate Leader recalled an incident where thugs invaded Hotel Presidential in Port Harcourt to disrupt the inauguration of a panel probing allegations that contractors were being compelled to pay bribes before receiving their contractual entitlements.
He said corruption in the public sector is often opportunistic, born from systems that reward delays and discretion rather than transparency.
Ndoma-Egba urged the Federal Government to allow NDDC boards to serve out their statutory four-year tenure, arguing that only then can proper planning and measurable progress occur.
“If the board is sure of its tenure, it can plan properly and deliver results,” he said.
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