NDDC Once Required 62 Signatures To Pay A Contractor – Ndoma Egba

Former Senate Leader and ex-Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, says the commission’s bureaucratic bottlenecks once required 62 signatures to pay a single contractor.

He described the process as a clear symptom of inefficiency and corruption that has long plagued the intervention agency.

Ndoma-Egba made the revelation during the inaugural edition of The Exchange podcast hosted by journalist Femi Soneye, where he discussed the NDDC’s operational challenges, political interference, and the persistent failure to achieve its development goals.

According to him, although the NDDC was established to drive sustainable growth in the oil-rich Niger Delta, its objectives have been undermined by the absence of a functional master plan and frequent changes in leadership.

“The NDDC started with a master plan developed through wide consultations with stakeholders, communities, states, oil companies, and the federal government,” .

“Unfortunately, it was abandoned almost immediately after it was launched.” Ndoma-Egba said

He noted that without the plan, the commission has been walking in the dark, unable to coordinate or deliver meaningful projects across the region.

The former Senate leader blamed the neglect on “political convenience” and the widespread perception of the commission as a share of the “national cake.”

Recalling his tenure, Ndoma-Egba said his effort to revive the master plan was abruptly halted when his board was dissolved through a news bulletin without prior notice, a move he described as destabilizing and counterproductive.

He added that the deep-rooted bureaucracy not only slows progress but also fuels corruption.

“I thought it was 53 stops for a contractor to be paid, but I was corrected it was actually 62. What does that breed? Inefficiency. And inefficiency breeds corruption,” he said.
Ndoma-Egba also alleged that an attempt to investigate corruption within the NDDC was violently disrupted when thugs stormed a Port Harcourt hotel during the inauguration of a panel probing reports of contractor extortion.

He called for reforms that would ensure stable leadership and strengthen accountability in the commission.

“If NDDC management is allowed to serve their full four-year term, they can plan properly and implement sustainable reforms without fear of arbitrary dissolution,” Ndoma-Egba said.

Oduyemi Odumade