Ndoma-Egba: “It Once Took 62 Signatures To Pay One Contractor At NDDC”
In a startling revelation that underscores the depth of inefficiency within Nigeria’s interventionist agencies, former Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and ex-Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, has disclosed that at one point, it took 62 signatures to process payment for a single contractor at the commission.
Speaking during the maiden edition of The Exchange Podcast hosted by Femi Soneye, Ndoma-Egba described the NDDC as “a good idea badly executed,” lamenting that bureaucracy and political interference have crippled its ability to deliver development to the Niger Delta region.
He revealed that the NDDC Master Plan, produced through extensive consultations with communities, state governments, oil companies, and the federal government, was abandoned soon after its launch — leaving the commission to “walk in the dark.”
“It’s like trying to build a house without a plan,” he said, stressing that the lack of a coordinated development roadmap and the frequent dissolution of boards have left the NDDC unstable and unproductive.
Recalling his tenure, Ndoma-Egba said he once asked his Managing Director how many steps it took for a contractor to get paid. “I was told 53, but then corrected— it was actually 62,” he revealed.
“What does that mean? Bureaucracy. And what does bureaucracy breed? Inefficiency. What does inefficiency breed? Corruption.”
He recounted how thugs once disrupted an investigative panel he convened to probe reports that contractors paid bribes to receive payments, an incident that, he said, typifies the entrenched resistance to transparency.
To fix the rot, Ndoma-Egba recommended that NDDC boards be allowed to serve their full four-year tenure, as stipulated by law, to enable continuity, proper planning, and accountability.
“Leaders who are sure of their tenure will plan long-term,” he said. “Those constantly looking over their shoulders can’t deliver sustainable reform.”
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