Okonjo-Iweala to NDDC: You Cannot Afford to Fail

Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has called on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to take bold and lasting action in addressing the deep-rooted economic and environmental challenges facing the Niger Delta region.

Speaking at the 25th anniversary celebration of the Commission on Saturday, she delivered a critical but passionate charge, urging the NDDC to refocus on its core mandate and deliver real impact.

“Let me first congratulate the NDDC for the work it has carried out for the people of the Niger Delta,” she said. “If I’m a bit critical in my speech, you know me, I mean it for good, because I think you have done a lot, but you still have a lot to do.”

She reminded the audience that the NDDC was created in 2000 under President Olusegun Obasanjo to replace OMPADEC, following decades of agitation from oil-producing communities over marginalisation and underdevelopment.

“Oil and gas exploration, by its nature, often poses challenges to its environment in the form of pollution of land and waters. Gas flaring is another hazard that the people in the environment have had to deal with,” she noted.

Okonjo-Iweala stressed that the Commission was meant to be the government’s strategic response to these issues. “You, the NDDC, cannot afford to fail,” she warned.

“As you well know, the oil and gas accounts for 90 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign exchange, and 70 per cent of its fiscal revenue, which is why it is regarded as the lifeblood of the economy. The people of the region must be carried along so that they can feel their concerns are being addressed.”

She added, “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.”

Okonjo-Iweala described the NDDC as a vehicle meant to fix the economic, infrastructural and environmental crisis in the oil-rich zone. “All of these caused a lot of frustrations that have affected the operations of the oil industry and threaten the prosperity of the country,” she said.

“The NDDC has a lofty goal of transforming the region. The NDDC is to offer a lasting solution to the socio-economic difficulties of the Niger Delta region,” she concluded.

Her remarks come amid worsening pollution in the Niger Delta. Environmental experts say the region has become one of the most polluted on earth, with over 9,000 oil spills recorded in Nigeria within just 10 years—compared to only 10 in the EU over 40 years.

The environmental fallout costs an estimated $758 million annually, with 75% of the burden borne by affected communities, who endure polluted water, barren farmlands, and vanishing biodiversity. Without urgent intervention, up to 40% of habitable land in the region could be lost in the next three decades.