The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has called for stronger and more sustainable partnerships among stakeholders as part of efforts to accelerate development across the Niger Delta region.
The NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, made the call at the 2026 Partners for Sustainable Development Conference held in Port Harcourt under the theme, “Synergy for Transformation.”
The two-day conference, which took place on September 22 and 23 at J’s Signature Hotel, GRA Phase 3, and the Obi Wali Cultural Centre, Port Harcourt, brought together government officials, development partners, private-sector representatives, traditional rulers, community leaders, civil society organisations, academics and other stakeholders.
Ogbuku said the conference provided an opportunity for the NDDC to give an account of its stewardship to the people of the Niger Delta while also receiving constructive feedback from stakeholders.
He urged participants to critically examine the activities of the Commission, offer useful suggestions and identify practical ways of addressing the region’s social, economic and environmental challenges.
According to him, the complex development challenges confronting the Niger Delta require coordinated efforts by government, the private sector, development agencies, civil society and local communities.
Ogbuku also disclosed that the NDDC was implementing a comprehensive governance framework aimed at strengthening accountability, transparency and probity in the management of the Commission.
He said the framework would provide clear guidelines for the management and staff of the NDDC while regulating expectations and demands from stakeholders.
The NDDC boss explained that, once adopted, the governance framework would become a stakeholders’ document against which the Managing Director, Governing Board and management of the Commission could be held accountable.
On the Commission’s digital transformation programme, Ogbuku said the NDDC was working towards full digitisation of its operations.
He said the directors of the Commission were already undergoing training as part of the process, adding that digitisation would reduce human interference, minimise delays and make official documents easier to track and retrieve.
“NDDC will be going to full digitalisation. No file will be on anybody’s desk for more than 48 hours without being attended to,” he assured.
Ogbuku solicited the continued cooperation and constructive engagement of stakeholders, saying their support had contributed to the progress recorded by the Commission.
“With your support, the NDDC is respected today. We want to solicit more support. Where we make mistakes, call us; we shall listen to you. That is why we are here today, to submit ourselves to you and hear from you,” he said.
He also urged stakeholders to use the conference to identify pressing social challenges in the Niger Delta and determine the respective roles of the NDDC and other development actors in addressing them.
The NDDC Managing Director attributed the Commission’s current performance partly to the support of President Bola Tinubu.
Earlier, the NDDC Director of Community and Rural Development, Engr. Theophilus Alagoa, said the conference was designed to promote meaningful dialogue and develop a policy framework that would strengthen synergy among stakeholders.
Alagoa said the Commission had moved beyond its former slogan of being “determined to make a difference” to actually “making a difference” in the Niger Delta.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Ambassador Godknows Igali, called for unity and collective action among stakeholders to achieve sustainable development in the region.
Igali urged traditional institutions, host communities, youth organisations and other stakeholders to work together in advancing the interests of the Niger Delta.
He also called for greater collaboration between the NDDC and other regional development institutions, including the proposed South-South Development Commission and the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority, as well as civil society organisations.
The conference was attended by the NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku; Minister of Niger Delta Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, FNSE; Deputy Governor of Imo State, Mrs Chinyere Ihuoma Ekomaru, representing Governor Hope Uzodimma; former NDDC Managing Director Timi Alaibe; traditional rulers and community leaders from across the Niger Delta, among others.
The conference underscored the growing emphasis on collaboration as a means of addressing the region’s longstanding development, environmental and governance challenges
