There is in Nigeria hardly a regional institution that draws the kind of national attention the Niger-Delta Development Commission does and for obvious reasons.
Established in 2000 under the administration of then President Olusegun Obasanjo to provide succor to the long suffering people of the Niger-Delta and coordinate development activities in the region, the Commission has gradually come to become the hotbed of controversy after controversy.
Scandal after scandal over the years has succeeded in whipping devastating storms around the Commission and its activities to the utter shock of Nigerians.
These storms that have continually rocked the Commission since its establishment over two decades ago have never failed to draw a collective national gasp.
It has been one tale of mismanagement after another with shocking amounts said to be lost to the thieves who lurk in seemingly every corner of Nigeria.
The administration’s of President Muhammadu Buhari which is entering into its twilight may not leave Nigerians with the fondest of memories.
However, on some important issues affecting Nigerians, it has sought to lay down a marker and take decisions to force an improvement.
Under the administration’s steely watch, a forensic audit of the Commission was commenced and concluded.
The report is yet to be made public, but apparently acting on the report,a new board has been constituted for the Commission.
As with almost everything Nigerian, the constitution of the board is sprinkled with controversy over the qualifications of its members.
Yet, what is unmistakable is that for the first time in a while,firm action has been taken to reposition the Commission.
The board is headed by Lauretta Onochie a staunch ally of President Muhammadu Buhari and one of his most impassioned defenders.
With the administration about to retreat into the shadows of history, it may yet be that the new plum appointment is reward for loyalty.
Yet, she has come out swinging, promising a new direction for a Commission that has been a playground for thieves in the past.
How Nigerians wish that things will work better in the Commission this time around. How Nigerians desire it.
Amidst a cyclone of competing interests, the Commission may be drinking in the last chance saloon with wiggle room long exhausted.
Nigerians recall how the the probe of the some staff of the Commission which brought farcical spells ended at the National Assembly.
The probe was on until suggestions started floating around that many of those leading the probe had themselves benefited from the rot.
The government is yet to disclose all the forensic audit dug up about the Commission. Whatever it was, it must have been weighty.
The report must have dug up startling revelations about all those who were awarded contracts by the Commission but did little to execute same.
The report if it was anything close to thorough must have disclosed just how much was frittered away by those entrusted with funds.
It appears that all those who for many years fed fat on the sweat and blood of the people of the Niger-Delta have everything to fear from the report.
For all the lives ruined by the appalling situation of the region and the scandalous failures of the NDDC, things need to work this time.
Kene Obiezu,
Twitter:@kenobiezu
