Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), has issued a pointed challenge to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), urging the intervention agency to prioritize and implement sustainable solutions for the region’s persistent socio-economic and environmental difficulties. Her call came during the 25th-anniversary celebration of the Commission on Saturday, where she delivered a critical, yet supportive, address.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala acknowledged the NDDC’s efforts over the years but stressed that much more remains to be done. She highlighted that the Commission was established in 2000 as a successor to OMPADEC, specifically in response to cries of marginalization and underdevelopment in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta. Decades of oil and gas exploration, she noted, have led to severe environmental degradation, including widespread pollution of land and waters, and pervasive gas flaring.
“The neglect of the socio-economic prosperity of the region has resulted in widespread frustration, which has culminated in restiveness among the people,” Okonjo-Iweala stated, emphasizing the urgent need for the NDDC to give “special attention” to the economic development of the area.
She underscored the critical importance of the Niger Delta to Nigeria’s economy, pointing out that oil and gas account for 90 percent of the nation’s foreign exchange earnings and 70 percent of its fiscal revenue. “The goose that lays the golden egg deserves attention in the form of infrastructure and social services to ensure that there is peace in the area, so it can continue to contribute optimally to the economy of the country,” she added.
The WTO DG reminded the NDDC of its “very important responsibility” to positively impact the lives of the people and ensure their contentment, thereby enabling the Federal Government to optimally earn revenue from the region.
The grim reality of the Niger Delta’s environmental crisis was also laid bare by Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, who cited alarming statistics. The region is considered one of the most polluted in the world due to unprecedented oil spills over the past five decades, often cited as an example of ecocide. She noted that while the European Union recorded 10 oil spill incidents in 40 years, Nigeria experienced a staggering 9,343 cases within a mere decade.
The environmental degradation from gas flaring, river dredging, oil spillage, and land reclamation in the Niger Delta is estimated to cost approximately US$758 million annually. Regrettably, 75% of this cost is directly borne by local communities through polluted water, infertile farmland, and lost biodiversity. Experts further project that the region could lose 40% of its habitable terrain in the next 30 years due to extensive dam construction.
Against this backdrop, Okonjo-Iweala firmly declared, “You, the NDDC, cannot afford to fail,” reiterating that the Commission’s “lofty goal” is to offer “a lasting solution to the socio-economic difficulties of the Niger Delta region.”
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