NDDC 2016 SECOND QUATER REPORT PART 2

 INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

The Infrastructure Development Projects under execution upon by the Commission are in the following Project Areas:

i. Roads/Bridges -  3528
ii. Jetty/Shore Protection - 134
iii. Canalisation/Reclamation - 67
iv. Electricity/Power - 1574
v. Water - 1173
vi. Buildings - 1708
vii. Flood Control - 306
viii. Equipping/Furnishing - 68


Project Statistics

S/NO ITEM QTY %
1 Number of awarded projects since inception as at June 2016.
8558
2 Number of ongoing projects as at June 2016
2261 26.4%
3 Number of completed projects as at June, 2016
3483 40.7%
4 Number of stalled/abandoned projects as at June 2016
293 3.4%
5 Number of awarded projects yet to mobilize to sites as at June 2016
2442 28.6%
6 Number of projects terminated as at June 2016
49 0.5%
7 Number of projects taken over by State Governments/other Agencies as at June 2016
30 0.4%
8 Approx. Value of IPC/Schedules Processed 15.91Bn


a. Project Monitoring & Supervision

i. During the period under review, some contractors advanced their projects to various levels of completion,while quite a number could not because of non-payment of earlier earned Interim Payment Certificates(IPCs).

ii. The Directorate responsible for project monitoring and supervision continued its functions of overseeing thepace and quality of work done, and processing of project correspondences during this period.

iii. The Directorate specifically carried out some project inspection and verification visits to some project sitesin conjunction with the Acting MD/CEO according to the schedule below:

S/NO STATE TEAM NO. OF PROJECTS
1 DELTA Ag. MD/CEO 5
2 ONDO Ag. MD/CEO 2

     Project Inspection/Verification Visits

Engineers and other technical personnel also visited projects
for which payment certificates were hitherto raised and
approved as follows:

S/NO STATE NO. OF PROJECTS
1 Abia 21
2 Akwa Ibom 57
3 Bayelsa 2
4 Cross River 20
5 Delta 58
6 Edo 6
7 Imo 34
8 Ondo 3
9 Rivers 56
Total 257

Project Management

i. Payment of Compensation to Communities along the ROW by UNA and Associates in respect of the construction of Etono-Biakpan-Asaga Road, Cross Rivers State.

ii. Payment of Compensation to Ugbokirima and Eso Communities in Orhionmwon LGA by NosaUwagboe and Co in respect of the Ugbokirima road construction in Edo State.


Project Design & Scoping

i. Engineering Review & Assessment
During the period under review, the Commission received 126design documents from various consultants and reviewed them. 32 of the designs were at the preliminary stage while 94 were at final design stage. 66 of the designs were certified fit for construction.

ii. Consultants’ Payment Certificates
146 payment certificates were processed for Design Consultants

iii. Project Scope Management
Confirmation and scope revalidation visits have been made to over 20proposed project sites.

iv. Relocation of Projects
No project was relocated within the period under review.

v. Transformer
No approval was granted for donation and installation within the period under review.

vi. Variation on Projects:
No approval was granted for upward review of contract sum during the period under review.

vii. Site Handover
Thirty(30) sites were handed over to contractors during the period under review.


HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES

During the period under review, the Commission carried out a number of strategic Human Capital Development Programmes designed to create jobs and uplift the standard of living of the people of the Niger Delta.

They werein the areas of Strategic Planning/Institutional Strengthening; Agriculture & Fisheries; Education, Healthcare& Social Services;Youth & Women Development; Skills Acquisition & Development; Environment; Security, Law & Order; amongstothers.

Sector 1: Strategic Planning/Institutional Strengthening


a. StrategicPlans

i. Approval of 2016 NDDC budget by National Assembly
ii. Collation and upgrade of development data in the Niger Delta Region.

b. Human Resources

i. Staff Leave Matters: A number of staff proceeded on various types of leave during the period under reviewas follows:

a. Annual Leave: 345Staff
b. Maternity Leave: 7 Staff
c. Casual Leave: 36 Staff
d. Compassionate Leave:1 Staff
e. Pre-retirement Leave: 9 Staff were issued notices
f. Leave of Absence: 2 Staff
g. Severance benefits: 9 Staff

ii. Staff Transfer: In pursuance of the decentralization policy of Management designed to further strengthenthe various Directorates/Departments/Units/State offices, 204 staff were transferred during the period underreview.


iii. Staff Welfare: Management dealt expeditiously with issues of Staff welfare, ensuring that salaries and allowances were paid as and when due. The confirmation of appointments of 137 Staff (49 Senior and 87 Junior) were issued letters.

iv. Staff Training and Development: The Commission implemented a number of training programmesdesigned to up-scale the skills and competencies of staff with a view to boosting their productivity during thereview under period. These included Human Resources for Non HR Professionals at CIPM, Lagos; Understanding the Dynamics of Global Human Resources Management Environment, leadership Edge Strategies for overcoming Crisis & and Chaos and Smart Strategists and creative Thinkers at Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM) Lagos.

v. Engagement of NYSC/IT Staff: Two (2) NYSC staff and four (4) IT Staff were engaged.


c. Management Committee Meetings

i. Four (4) Management Committee meetings were held during the period under review. 262nd Management meeting was held on 18th April, 2016, 263rd was held on 16th May 2016, 264th meeting was held on 6th June, 2016 and 265th meeting was held on 27th June, 2016.

ii. Thirty Four (34) Other Ad-hoc/emergency meetings were held between Acting MD/CEO and the Directors/Heads ofUnits/Departments.

d. Statutory Meetings/Reporting

The Commission responded to the request of the Office of the Secretary of the Federation on highlighting its achievements from May 2015 to May 2016.

e. Image Management

There is a wrong perception about the NDDC etched in the minds of a large segment of the public, especially therestive youth. This perception centres on the mandate and activities of the Commission and the Federal Government in the regionowing to lack of proper knowledge and ineffective sensitization of the public about the Commission’s mandate and activities over the years.

Against this backdrop, the management rolled out a media engagement strategy to improve public awarenessabout the Commission during the period under review on various platforms – print, electronic and social media.

Consistent with the Buhari Administration’s policy of promoting transparency and zero tolerance forcorruption, the Commission continued its Report-A-Bribe campaign as an effective initiative topromote transparency and accountability in its mandate area. To this end, two dedicated telephone lines –09086567311 and 07062492712 –and a dedicated email – [email protected] – were advertised for public information.

 Furthermore, 27 press releases on the activities of the Commission were released between April and June 2016.


f. Institutional Strengthening/Corporate Functions

i. Acting National Coordinator, Servicom Abuja, paid a courtesy visit to the Commission

ii. DMD Ecobank, paid courtesy visit to the Commission

iii. Vanguard of Opobo Nation (VON) visit to the Ag MD/CEO

iv. Courtesy visit of the President and Exco members of the Ijaw National Congress

v. Courtesy visit of the Exco members of the Ijaw Youth Council

vi. Courtesy visit of the Nigerian Youth Professionals

vii. Courtesy visit of the United Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria

viii. Courtesy visit of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt.

ix. Ag MD/CEO budget defence at the National Assembly


g. Fleet Management: Current Fleet strength is 254: 179 at Headquarters, 75 at States/Liaison Office, and 1 boat



Sector 2: AGRICULTURE

i. During the period under review, additional 200 trainees and beneficiaries of the on-going NDDC Agricultural Entrepreneurial Skills Development scheme benefited from the programme which was budgeted for in 2013.

ii. On-going Rice processing plant at Elele-Alimini with a capacity of 144 tons/day. Discussions are on to lease the Rice Processing Plant to Gold Coin Industries Ltd with a view to boosting rice production in the region. Another 30ton/day rice processing plant at Mbiabet-Ikpe Community in Akwa Ibom State is presently being rehabilitated.

iii. The IFAD/FGN/NDDC/CBN Programme, trained 421,571 households with the goal of improving the standard of living and quality of life of rural poor households in the Niger Delta Region.

Capacity building of some NDDC Staff took place at the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI) Ilorin, Kwara State 23rd to 27th May, 2016. The final closing ceremony workshop programme was held on 2nd June, 2016.

iv. The Commission distributed tractors to large farms, research institutes and other related bodies under the NDDC Farm Mechanization Project. Agricultural Institutes, Research Institutes, Cooperative Societies, and Universities in the region as well as the nine State governments in the Niger Delta region benefited.

v. The NDDC/Cross River State Poultry/Hatchery Rehabilitation Project designed to support poultry farmers in the region is on-going. A meeting on the way forward between NDDC and Cross River State was held on July 25th, 2016.

vi. The construction of two integrated fish farms is ongoing at Mkpara-Otop, in Odukpani LGA in Cross River and Afana-Ekpenedi, Esit Eket LGA in Akwa Ibom States

vii. Donation of tractors to benefitting farmers/cooperatives in Delta, Ondo States

viii. Meeting with representatives of the Soil Fertility Initiative on the need to stabilize the soils of Hydrogen and Aluminium ions leading to low soil fertility and resultant low yields.

ix. Hosted the Fisheries Society of Nigeria


Sector 3: EDUCATION, HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES


i. Computer Based test was organized for applicants for the 2016 NDDC Post –Graduate Foreign Scholarship.

ii. Intervention on Cholera outbreak in Rivers and Imo States

iii. Donation of Lassa protective equipments and kits in the 9 Niger Delta States

iv. Second Management/Staff Fitness Walk exercise for Staff at the Headquarters and State Offices

v. Procurement and Distribution of 500 Laptops to some selected Secondary Schools and the Niger Delta Science School for Academic excellence

vi. NDDC Professional Chair on Malaria Research at the University of Port Harcourt

vii. Distribution of hospital material and drugs to the Imo State Specialist Hospital, Umuguna, Imo State



Sector 4: Youth Sports, Culture and Women Development Affairs


i. Procurement process for the Donation of relief equipment of  of 80 nos automated wheel chairs, 80 nos sensor guide canes, 80 nos German magnifier hearing aids and 48 nos crutches to people living with disabilities in the Niger Delta Region

ii. Payment of Niger Delta Youths engage in traffic control/decongestion, environmental sanitation services, cleaning of blocked drainages, clearing of weeds and grasses on major roads



Sector 5: Skills Acquisition and Development

i. Distribution of sewing machines


Sector 6: Environment

Environmental protection and control is very central to the mandate of the Commission as per the NDDC Act of 2000. Some activities that took place within this sector during the period under review included:

a. World Environment day Celebration

World Environment day was marked with the theme “Go Wild for Life” which was to bring to our knowledge the booming illegal trade in wildlife products eroding earth’s precious biodiversity, robbing us of natural heritage and driving whole species to the brink of extinction. The event started from May 30th to 3rd June, 2016. The celebration was marked with planting of 200 trees and stocking of water bodies with fingerlings at Ahoada, Rivers State to encourage and boost fish production in the region.

b. Health Safety & Environment/Environmental Monitoring of Projects (HSE/EMP)

During the 2nd Quarter of 2016, HSE/EMP whose principal function is to implement a method of systematically identifying, assessing and controlling hazards that may arise from project execution, submitted reports. ????

c. Waste Management

Design work on a modern waste management facility to promote waste minimization through waste reuseand recycling was intensified. The consultant submitted the preliminary design which is currently beingreviewed by the Commission.


d. Clean-Up of Ogoni Land

The Implementation of UNEP report on Ogoni clean-up was launched and the Commission played an active role in the successful launch.

Mrs Ibim Ag MD/CEO NDDC with Haija Aisha Hon Min of Environment, in preparation to the official flag of of UNEP report implementation.

Sector 7: LAW & ORDER


a. Security

The insecurity situation in the Niger Delta remained a serious concern to the Commission throughout Q2. The Commission continued to monitor the situation while working closely with the security agencies to ensure the safety of its personnel and property.


b. Law & Order (Legal Matters)

i. A total of seventeen cases were instituted against the commission.

ii. The commission instituted one appeal against the ruling of the High Court of Bayelsa State

iii. Two cases were concluded in favour of the commission and 1 appeal was filed by a plaintiff against the Commission

iv. Fifty-one contract agreements were executed

v. Eleven requests for discharge of Advance Payment Guarantee, APG, was received but only Five (5) met the conditions and discharge letters were issued.


SECTION 10: PARTNERSHIPS

Determined to sustain the leveraging of the resources and expertise of relevant and experience members of the international development community in the pursuit of its mandate, the Commission forged partnerships with stakeholders both within and outside the region for effective service delivery. Some of the projects and programmes jointly initiated with some key stakeholders and development partners in the region during the review period included:

a.NDDC/OPTS Collaboration

Under the NDDC/OPTS Collaboration arrangement, Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited proposed to partner with NDDC on the Gokana 2 cluster project. Shell further requested that this project be executed within the 2016 fiscal year.

b.CREDIT DELIVERY TO FARMERS COOPERATIVES

A total number of 374 Farmers Cooperatives out of 1100 (ten member) Cooperatives assessed the NDDC/BoA Agricultural loans. Under the partnership arrangement between NDDC and BoA, the Commission deposited a total sum of N967, 471,029.40 from where disbursement of the loan facility was made to beneficiaries.

Monitoring and supervision of the 374 benefitting cooperatives are still ongoing.The 374 beneficiaries are graduates of the Commission’s agricultural skills training programmefrom the 9 States of the region.




SECTION 11: INTERNAL CONTROL MECHANISMS


The Commission has a robust Internal Control Mechanism that ensures all processes and guidelines are complied with before payment is made on any subhead. The Internal Audit Department is responsible for ensuring that the internal control system is in compliance with the guidelines issued by the Federal Government. These include Financial Regulation 1705, which stipulates 100% checks on all Interim Payments Certificates (IPCs), Advance Payment Guarantees (APGs) and other invoices for payment. The
Department further ensures compliance with the decisions and directives of the Governing Board and Management on the functioning and operations of the Commission.

The Department performed the following functions during the period under review:

1. Prepayment audit and/or check all payments

2. Ensured that monies receivable were received and banked

3. Carried out periodic audit spot checks of the books

4. Conducted special investigations as directed by the relevant organs

5. Carried out spot checks on projects and prices

6. Assisted the external auditors in carrying out their duty

7. Ensured the Revalidation of Interim Payment Certificates in compliance with the new Executive Management Framework

8. Carried out post-payment audit

9. Assisted other supervisory or regulatory agencies in the performance of their statutory functions


Audit Observation

To ensure compliance with the internal control system, audit observations and/or queries were responded toadequately. There was full compliance with the internal control processes of the Commission during Q2.


SECTION 12: CHALLENGES

The multifaceted challenges that had adverselyimpacted the performance of the Commission over timeare categorized under the five (5) broad headings viz: Administration; Project/Programme Administration; Stakeholders’ Engagement; Finance/Funding; and Terrain/Climatic Conditions.


a. Administration

The following Administrative challenges were identified:

i. Weak internal processes, procedures and control mechanism

ii. Poor-adherence to policies, procedures and processes

iii. A disconnect between the State offices and the Head Office in terms of projects/programmes delivery, information flow, and incomplete implementation of the decentralization exercise

iv. Weak organizational culture and low employee discipline, leading to lack of commitment and dedication to duty amongst staff

v. Poor internal and external corporate image




b. Project/Programme Administration

i. Poor project initiation practices

ii. Non-compliance with the procurement procedures, resulting in the incidence of high failure rate of NDDC projects and programmes

iii. Poor Quality assurance processes and technology

a. Inadequate internal control mechanism leading to unethical practices and compromises

b. Delay in payment for certified works done, leading to rapid deterioration of uncompleted works

c. Lack of Commission-specific Standards and Specifications for Projects

d. Overtrading in project and programme contract awards


c. Stakeholders’ Engagement

i. Weak Stakeholders’ Engagement, lack of synergy and poor collaboration

ii. Inability to engage critical stakeholders for partnership

iii. Lack of implementation of the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan (NDRDMP) by allstakeholders in the Region

iv. High level of insecurity in the region hampering development of effective partnerships

v. Non-alignment of the activities of the Commission to the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan


d. Finance/Funding

i. Late passage of the budget likely to cause a relatively low budget performance.

ii. Minimal funding by the Federal Government throughout the period under review.

iii. Non-compliance with the provisions of the NDDC Act of 2000 in the funding of the Commission by all thecontributing partners.

iv. Delayed/Non-payment of contractors that had earned Interim Payment Certificates (IPCs) for work done.

v. Poor and inadequate funding of projects and programmes in the NDDC Budget largely due to the largenumber of budget line items.

vi. Almost all projects being embarked upon by the Commission are solely funded by the Commission

e. Terrain and Climatic conditions

i. Due to the deltaic nature of the region, the construction of roads is very expensive compared with the upland areas of the country.

ii. The region presents the most difficult logistics challenges in the country and has made NDDC projects comparatively expensive.


SECTION 13: SUGGESTED WAY FORWARD

The following are recommendations considered as the way forward to keep the Commission on track in line with its mandate of delivering development in the Niger Delta Region as stipulated in the NDDC Act of 2000.


a.Finance

i. Funding of the Commission must be in line with the funding provisions in Part V Section 14 of the NDDC Act 2000.

ii. The leadership of the Commission must constructively engage all statutory contributors to achieve adequate and timely funding

iii. Machinery should be put in place to recover all outstanding debts owed the Commission by all the statutory contributors.


b. Stakeholders’ Engagement

i. The Commission should develop and implement a robust stakeholders’ engagement strategy as a matter of priority.

ii. Develop Stakeholders’ Engagement System in all facets of the Commission’s operations i.e. from project/programme conceptualization to monitoring and evaluation of NDDC activities.

iii. Engender partnerships in project/program delivery.

iv. Involve the National Assembly and other Stakeholders in NDDC Budgeting process.

c. Staff/Institutional Strengthening

i. Restructuring and professionalizing the Commission’s workforce

ii. Development of an organizational culture and proper work ethics for the Commission

iii. Deployment of appropriate technology for project/programme management

iv. Amendment of the NDDC Act of 2000 in terms with current reality.

v. Professionalization of the appointment of NDDC Executive Management

vi. Improve Performance Management System in NDDC.