Columinsts
This Girl Child Marriage Brouhaha!
By Sam Otuonye
Last week, the social media was awash with the story of a certain Kano Alhaji, who was alleged to have recently married a girl of 11 (eleven years).The man alleged to be in his sixties was quoted as saying that they are married because “they love each other.”
Could this mean that, marriage is consummated only at the altar of love irrespective of age? Hence, a girl child can be taken into marriage no matter how old she is, and the responses of her biological appurtenances? Expectedly, the issue attracted a can of condemnation, castigation, vilification, opprobrium, vituperation, etc., from many social media activists.
This is one of the many girl juvenile marriage transactions going on predominantly among the Muslim Faithful in Northern Nigeria. Of course, they are only reported when the high and wealthy are involved. As Shakespeare would say (in Julius Caesar) “when beggars die there are no comets seen; the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.”
One cannot forget in a hurry how Senator Yerimah of Zamfara State, nearly lost his seat in the Senate some years ago, when his colleagues fiercely tackled him for marrying a minor. In fact,they called him out on the floor of the senate and he had to defend his action rather with a brute force. It is not only him that has travelled this route but some other politicians, businessmen, traditional leaders, etc.
But, is it an acceptable practice in Islam? Does Qur’an support it? From my research, marriage to a girl child is more or less a parochial historical antecedent rather than a modern permissible ethic. Historically, it was the marriage of Aisha at 9 (nine years) to Prophet Mohammad, which many Islamic scholars have attributed to as, a special privilege, given the supreme, superior, and exalted kingdom of Mohammad . Wikiislam.net, observes that, “Today, many modern Muslim countries have legislated to raise the minimum age of marriage, in many cases to the age of 16 or 18 for girls (though often with loopholes or with ineffective enforcement) and to prevent forced marriage, often in the face of opposition from Islamic scholars”.
The United Nations regards child marriage as a human rights violation and aims to eradicate it by 2030. A girl is vulnerable to spousal abuse and childhood pregnancy which greatly jeopardizes her health and future. Medically, organizations such as UNICEF warn of medical risks to vaginal sexual intercourse with young girls and young adolescents, including their hips being too narrow to safely give birth. Beyond the medical risks are the social and psychological ones.
In www.quran-islam.org, a classical Islamic scholar, Ro Waseem, argued against child marriages thus: “One of the biggest misconceptions about Islam is that it permits child marriages, and it is therefore looked down upon as medieval, oppressive and illogical by non-Muslims. Shockingly, instead of viewing this as a downright tarnation and disgrace to Islam, Muslims in complete ignorance of the Quran actually defend and support this point of view. If Muslims, themselves, are going to portray such image of their religion, then I really don’t see why they would get agitated with the criticism on Islam”.
Taking a triangular peep into what the supreme Islamic Book says about marriage, from the expose of Ro Waseem, will help the readership of this piece understand and draw cogent conclusions on this epochal issue, even as I highlight the emphatical points therein.
First, what Quran asserts about child marriage: (Quran, 4:6); “And test the orphans (in your charge) until they reach a marriageable age; then, if you find them to be mature of mind/sound in judgment, hand over to them their possessions…”The emphasis here is ‘mature of mind/sound in judgment’.
Second, is the Quran advice to Muslims to marry Monotheists: (Quran, 2:221) it advises that “Do not marry the females who set up partners until they acknowledge. An acknowledging servant is better than one who sets up partners, even if she attracts you. Similarly, do not marry the males who set up partners until they acknowledge. An acknowledging servant is better than one who sets up partners even if he attracts you”. The high point is ‘until they acknowledge’ –acknowledgment.
The third is, marriage, as a solemn oath: (Quran, 4:21); It states, “And how could you take it away (marital gift) after you have given yourselves to one another, and she has received a most solemn pledge from you”. The bottom line is ‘a most solemn pledge’.
Deducing from the above points therefore, the child bride lacks mature mind and sound judgment of the marriage venture, lacks knowledge of its intrigues and intricacies, and above all, the solemnity, which is the sincere, genuine, earnest, wholeheartedness and sworn consent to the transaction. All because she is mentally, physically, and socially immature to coordinate and appreciate the package.
But some Islamic scholars have argued that the age of the girl is not important as long as her body weight and size (fatness) are capable of withstanding the marriage romance. This position is rather self-serving, unconscionable and wicked. It smacks of lust rather than the mutual beneficial relationship a true marriage is intended to achieve.
Now, let us look at what some intellectual compendiums and Psychologists have to say about age, as captured in last week’s article of this writer, published in the Advocate News of March 13 and National Star of March 14, 2023, titled; ‘Under-age Voters: A call for Sympathy’.
Age is the length of time that a person has lived or thing has existed. Collins English Dictionary defines age as the state of being old or the process of becoming older”. It added: humans grow wiser with age. Psychologists define age as a combination of physical, psychological, biological, and social maturity. They further divided age into four types: Chronological Age – which is the age calculated based on the year of birth; Appearance Age –the way one looks; Biological Age –the age that is measured by the body’s vital organs at a cellular and molecular level; and Psychological Age – this is associated with behavioral and thought processes. Fairly speaking, a girl child does not possess any of these categories to qualify her for marriage.
Physically, she is still very tender and fragile. Psychologically, her behavioral and thought processes are immature. Biologically, her vital organs, cells and molecules are still developing and infirm. And socially, she is not capable to undertake contractual agreements and consents, be it legal, marital, etc.
This scenario becomes more strategic and exhilarating whenwww.dictionary.com, captures Age as “a period of human life, measured by years from birth, usually marked by a certain stage or degree of mental or physical development and involving legal responsibility and capacity.” This obviously, includes the age of marriage, etc.
The burning and poignant question is: Are these under-age girls mentally mature? Are they physically developed? Are they legally responsible to grant marriage consent, since the extant laws and the Constitution of the land have accorded them the status of a minor? The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, Section 29(4)(a) defines “full age” as the age of eighteen (18) years and above. Hence, anybody who is below the age of 18 years is a minor, a child or a juvenile.
According to Child Rights Act (2003), (which is a law that guarantees the right of all children in Nigeria), a child is anyone below the age of 18. The part 111 (three) of the Act stipulates that teenage girls in Nigeria should not be married before the age of 18. Unfortunately, some states in Nigeria have not domesticated this all-important Act, particularly in the Northern part of the country. Even the states that have done so are yet to enforce it so that it can work.
More pathetic is that, the same 1999 Constitution that pegs full age at 18, conversely harbors a conflicting clause in section 29(4)(b) which asserts that, upon marriage a girl is to be regarded as an adult regardless of the child’s age when she is married. This runs counter to section 29(4)(a) of the same Constitution that fixes full age at 18 and above. I would want to hope and believe that the framers of this aspect of the Constitution did not factor in their self-serving motives, otherwise, the contradiction would not have been necessary; criminalizing it outright would have sealed the deal.
In 2017, the Pew Research Center reported Nigeria as having a whopping 3.3 million child marriages; the third largest after India and Bangladesh. In 2020, the number grew to 3.74 million, according to Statista. Mr. Mausi Segun, African Director at Human Rights Watch, has advised Nigerian states to adopt, implement, and align existing laws with the provisions of Child Rights Act, which criminalizes marriage before the age of 18 and protects girl’s rights.
Child marriage, no matter the side of the coin, is a violation of the rights of the girl child. It is violence meted out to the juvenile bride. These rich old grooms purposefully, flagrantly and ruthlessly invade their ego, pride, value, conscience, privacy, dignity, confidence, morale, psyche, and general ethos. And this should not be allowed to fester. Governments at all levels must strengthen their laws and close-up all loopholes. NGOs and International Agencies should rev up sensitization programs, particularly in the North, where poverty, hunger, illiteracy and insurgency have put the monster on the increase. Adult men should reserve some respect and dignity for themselves and develop some conscience and consciousness to do to others as they would have others do to them. Child marriage equates child abuse. It is callous. It is anachronistic.
THE enchanter recited the incantation with utmost fury: “River Niger and River Benue, the confluence is in Kogi State. Except say River Niger and River Benue no come meet for Kogi; if River Niger and River Benue come meet for Kogi, dem no go fit arrest Bello… Dem dey use EFCC pursue am, dem no go succeed o. Dem go lay siege for im house for Abuja… Except say I no be born of Igala kingdom… EFCC dey front, you dey back; you dey back, dem dey front; you dey left, dem dey right; you dey right, dem dey left; you dey centre, dem come there, you jump dem pass!…a lion cannot give birth to a goat…”
The repertoire is a typical exchange in African rituals. The target was the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), an organization headed by Ola Olukoyede. Olukoyede is said to be a pastor in Enoch Adeboye’s RCCG. The aim is for the de-escalation of the pursuit of Bello by the EFCC, his alleged theft of Kogi State’s N82 billion notwithstanding. Bello’s matter got escalated towards the end of the week when the EFCC chairman alleged that the ex-governor paid in advance, the sum of $845,852.84 to the Abuja school of his children. Bello has made feeble attempt to denounce this from his hiding hole with the ill-logic that it was paid with his hard-earned sweats. Why the rush to pay school fees till 2034 if where the money was got today would remain permanent?
Former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello
Yahaya Bello and his apologists have been spurting out bunkum. They allege that the EFCC is hounding him. Let us assume they are right. First, it is shameful for a self-styled Lion to hide inside a hole like a coyote, thereby eating stale food reserved for effeminate animals. Don’t they say that the leopard, and by extension, the lion, does not eat stale food? (Ekun kii je’ran ikasi). It is thus lawless of Yahaya Bello not to honour the anti-graft body’s lawful invitation. Bello’s 8-year reign was notorious for his naked stomping on opposition’s human rights, running a government fittingly described as an orgy of violence. Why are executioners always afraid when swords are flung in their faces? His is reminiscent of the story of an executioner in Old Oyo Kingdom whose specialty was in decapitating his victims with relish. Upon courting the ire of the Alaafin and was sentenced to death, the ex-executioner suddenly became jittery. When the man about to decapitate him began to do the traditional acrobatics pre-cutting off of his head, jittery, the ex-executioner’s voice shaky, he asked what part of his body would be cut off, “my head or feet?” Celebratory townsmen who had gathered to witness his comeuppance were angered and demanded rhetorically what part of his victims’ bodies he relished in cutting off during his reign of terror.
Late University of Leiden scholar, Stephen Ellis, in a 2001 article, “Mystical Efforts: Some evidence from the Liberian war” (Journal of Religion in Africa, XXX1, 2) described how Monrovians were shocked at how soldiers “(disemboweled) the bodies of their victims and (eat) their flesh or internal organs, particularly the heart.” The art of eating human heart is borne of a residue of practices in Africa. The belief is that, a person’s essence is contained in the heart and the blood. So, once the hearts and blood of these warriors are eaten and drunk, “the one who had just eaten them acquires some of the power formerly possessed by his victim.”
Wherever Bello is at the moment, no one needed to be told that he is engrossed with one or a combination of three elements in the bid to confront the coercive power of the Nigerian state. In the tragedy that is Yahaya Bello, these three elements must be making gross harvests from his calamity. They are, on the one hand, the religious combine made up of Pastors, Alfas and African indigenous religious rituals and magic. The second is, lawyers scrambling to profit from what they perceive as the loot from Kogi. Some shameless ones among them gathered in court last week to protest against the EFCC. The third is bloggers/journalists who by now must have offered to defreeze adversarial comments against him in traditional and social media platforms.
Marabouts have become notorious in the incestuous relationship between politics and religion in northern Nigeria. They are traditionally Muslim religious leaders and teachers who functioned historically as chaplains serving in Islamic army of North Africa, the Sahara, and in the Maghreb.
For very many African heads of state, clerics and known spiritualists were their advisors. Kenneth Kaunda was top among them. As president of Zambia, he had an Indian, Dr Ranganathan, as consultant on power matters. So also did President Mathieu Kerekou of Benin. He had a Malian marabout called Mohamed Amadou Cisse, also known as ‘Djine’ or ‘the Devil’ as his spiritual advisor. Cisse once publicly espoused the Devil. He was hitherto advisor to some other African leaders like Mobutu and Omar Bongo of Gabon. Kerekou later appointed Cisse minister of state whose responsibility in the Beninese government was secret services. President Didier Ratsiraka of Madagascar too had a palace that boasted of an extravagant temple dedicated to Rosicrucian god. So also did Paul Biya of Cameroon and Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique.
Marabouts, herbalists, sorcerers and occult chiefs of the Yahaya Bellos of this world and other African leaders become repositories of highly confidential state information. These get them in the process of spiritual interventions for the captive leaders. Feckless and desperate in the bid to attain and cling on to power, they divulge details of innermost governmental secrets to them. A 1998-published journal article written by Stephen Ellis and Gerrie ter Haar with the title, “Religion and Politics in Sub-Saharan Africa” (The Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 175-201) discusses how leading marabouts have pre-knowledge of coups d’e tat and other secrets of power. Amadou Cisse, for instance, knew virtually all the secrets of power in Benin.
The moment the Nigerian state allows Yahaya Bello, for whatever reason, to escape the wrath of the law, its last lever of strength will snap off. Whoever kills the proverbial hunchback, the Abuke Osin, should pay dearly for it.
Happy independence everyone!
As we celebrate another year of independence, it is time to reflect, to look in the mirror, for our nation and ourselves.
We know Nigeria, we love Nigeria, Nigeria is one of Africa’s most diverse and dynamic countries. We are a nation that excites, beguiles, and dreams. Yet, amidst our diversity and that potential that we all feel, we have faced so many challenges. These challenges ask us to answer a fundamental question: What is our collective responsibility in nation-building?
The destiny of Nigeria lies firmly in the hands of its people – you and me. I am an optimist and I believe strongly in the potential of our nation. We must work together to create the progress we so desire through innovation, and with unity in diversity.
In August, I spoke to the Nigerian Bar Association Annual General Conference in Abuja. At the time of a new administration – and without doubt some of our toughest times economically, I spoke about our collective responsibility as Nigerians, and what we must do to foster nation-building.
My prescription, my advice, my philosophy is simple:
1. Unity.
We must set our differences aside and be united with one ambition, and one duty – nation-building. Whatever our backgrounds, geographies, religions, and experiences let us ensure that our country experiences a true renaissance.
2. Celebrate our Global Success.
We know the potential of Nigeria.
We know the resources, human and natural, that Nigeria has at her disposal. We must learn to champion the successes of Nigerians globally – in international leadership positions at the WTO, at the UN, at the African Development Bank, at the Afreximbank, in technology, in music and entertainment, in business, in arts and in media, in film, in sports.
We see these replicated at home – what we need to do is unleash our potential, create that enabling environment in Nigeria.
3. Business Excellence.
The Nigerian private sector is showing globally our capability, our ingenuity, our institutionalisation. We have global businesses with Nigerian origins. For instance – UBA, the United Bank for Africa, the only African Bank that operates in the USA, as a deposit-taking bank. We are now in Dubai, Paris, and London – and just as importantly 20 other countries in Africa. Who would have thought 20 years ago, that Nigeria would be home to Africa’s global bank!
The private sector must continue to surpass its own achievements and continue to put Nigeria on the map.
4. Shared Responsibility
Nation-building is a call to arms – a vital task – a necessity.
At its core, nation-building is the intricate process of forging a cohesive, harmonious, and united society, out of diverse individuals, cultures, and ideologies. It is the art of constructing a shared identity.
Transforming Nigeria is a journey that demands our collective dedication, building across political affiliations, ethnic differences, and socioeconomic differences.
One that is not the responsibility of our government alone. Great nations start with great people, not just great leaders.
5. A Shared Ambition Across Our Society.
Our private sector, our philanthropies, our civil society, all citizens must be brought together and be empowered – as real, valued and executing partners for this national renewal, this nation building.
6. Love For Country.
Let Nigeria be at the centre of our hearts. Let us invest in the brand Nigeria.
We have no other place, no other motherland than Nigeria. We must begin to show and share a sense of pride in Nigeria. We must begin to rekindle our hope and have confidence in Nigeria and in our leaders. Let us be proud of Nigeria.
The responsibility of nation-building falls upon each and every one of us. To truly build a strong and prosperous nation, we must be more conscious and dedicated in our efforts.
Let us be inspired by the lessons of history, motivated by the sacrifices of our forefathers, guided by the wisdom of our elders, and energised by the aspirations of our youth.
Together, we can build a nation we can all be proud of.
Celebrate 63!
#TOEWay
By Ifeatu Agbu
The rapid development of the Niger Delta region, which is the core mandate of the Niger Delta Development Commkisison, NDDC, got an impetus when the current Management, led by Dr Samuel Ogbuku, mounted the saddle at the Commission’s headquarters on January 5, 2023.
From day one, Ogbuku and his team were confronted with the daunting challenges of development in the Niger Delta region. However, the challenges spurred them to begin to look for new ways of achieving results. That inexorably led to the decision by the Commission to begin to do things differently.
In charting a new course, the Commission had to use new strategies, which emphasized transparency and accountability.
The new trajectory takes into account the vision of the NDDC, which is to create an enabling environment for the sustainable development of the Niger Delta region. The Management is also guided by the Commission’s mission, which is: “to facilitate the sustainable, even and rapid development of the Niger Delta, into a region that is socially stable, politically peaceful, economically prosperous and ecologically regenerative.”
The paradigm shifts at the NDDC did not come by chance. It came from good leadership. According to General Collin Powell, former Chairman of the US Joint Chief of Staff [1989-93] and the first African American to be appointed Secretary of State, you have to appoint the right calibre of people to deliver good results.
For him, “the organisation doesn’t really accomplish anything. Plans don’t accomplish anything either. Theories of management don’t matter. Endeavours succeed or fail because of the people involved. Only by attracting the best people will you accomplish great deeds.”
The Executive Management team in NDDC today appears to be hitting the right notes. This started with the solid foundation laid during a four-day Board and Management Retreat at the Ibom Icon Hotels and Golf Resort, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. This set the tone for a new and re-invigorated journey.
Indeed, the management signaled that it would not be business as usual as it would enthrone transparency in its operations and reverse the resource-curse syndrome in the Niger Delta region.
At the end of the retreat, participants resolved that the NDDC should prioritize key sectors that would have huge impact on the standard of living of the people of the Niger Delta, namely: infrastructure, education, health and agriculture; the NDDC should pay particular attention to the security of lives and property and the protection of the poor and weak in the society; the NDDC should improve its youths and women empowerment programmes; the NDDC should consider implementing legacy projects that have the potential to benefit the people of the region, reduce poverty and improve the conditions of living of the people.
The stakeholders resolved to intensify efforts towards fast-tracking the development of the Niger Delta region. Along this line, they agreed to revisit and review the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan, which expired in 2020, to provide sustainable focus for the region.
They further resolved: “That the NDDC in its determination to take the region to greater heights shall engage in Public Private partnership arrangements with State Governments, International Oil Companies (IOCs) as well as International Donor Agencies with a view to executing mega projects for the region.”
To truly make a difference, the management adopted new methods to effectively drive sustainable development in the region. Thus, it decided to espouse the Public Private Partnership, PPP, model to provide alternative sources of funding for key development projects and programmes.
Consequently, a Management Committee on Public Private Partnership was constituted by the NDDC on January 18, 2023. The Commission observed that the only outstanding partnership it has entered into since inception was with respect to the construction of the Ogbia-Nembe Road. The 27-kilometre road, which connects 14 different communities of Bayelsa State, was constructed in partnership with Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC.
That multi-billion flagship project illustrates the kind of challenges confronting the Niger Delta. It cuts through the mangrove swamps with many bridges and 99 culverts.
To further explore the possibilities presented by a PPP model, the Commission organised a PPP summit in Lagos on April 25. At the Summit, with the theme: “Rewind to Rebirth,” the Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, with a United States-based firm, Atlanta Global Resources Inc., AGRI to build a railway network that will connect the nine states of the Niger Delta region.
The NDDC management had previously engaged the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC, Limited to propose a partnership for speedy development of the Niger Delta.
The Group Managing Director of NNPC Limited, Mr. Mele Kyari, agreed to co-fund some of NDDC’s projects tailored towards infrastructural development of the Niger Delta region. The partnership overture to the NNPC came on the heels of similar moves to get the hands of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited.
Again, the Commission engaged the members of the Oil Producers Trade Section, OPTS, of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry during their recent meeting in Lagos. According to Ogbuku, the management “recognizes that the OPTS, which embodies the IOCs, is a critical stakeholder of the NDDC, that is second only to the people of the region.”
Obviously, the NDDC alone cannot handle the task of developing the Niger Delta region. The Commission needs the support of all stakeholders to achieve the goal of developing the region. NDDC funds alone cannot fully develop the region. It needs the partnership of IOCs to achieve this.
Apparently, this prompted the management to step up the collaboration with various stakeholders, including the state governments to end the era of duplication of projects and promote harmony.
The NDDC boss noted that it was important to enhance collaboration between state governors, the NDDC, and other critical stakeholders to drive development through the monitoring and execution of regional projects.
Interestingly, steps are already being taken to strengthen the relationship between the Commission and the State Governments of the Niger Delta, to make them partners and not competitors.
These engagements have improved the visibility and broadened the scope of NDDC’s partnerships. In recognition of this fact, Ogbuku said that “stakeholders’ engagements were critical to the commission’s effectiveness. “We have, therefore, met with the civil society groups, traditional rulers and community leaders.
The traditional institution, being a highly revered group, was given due attention. Thus, the management visited the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, in his palace in Warri, Delta State and the Amanyanabo of Okochiri, King Ateke Michael Tom in his palace in Okochiri, Okrika Local Government Area
To consolidate on the engagements, the management inaugurated a 2024 Budget Committee to interface with stakeholders in the budget process. The committee was charged with identifying the vision of the NDDC as an interventionist agency in order to prioritise the allocation of available resources.
Ogbuku assured that the Commission would produce a budget that would capture the present realities in the region, insisting that the document must have a clear vision. “This way, in implementing the it, there will be proper guidelines and it will not be distorted when it gets to the National Assembly. To achieve this, the NDDC must have a stakeholder’s conference to reach an agreement,” he said.
The NDDC boss maintained that the 2024 NDDC budget will be an inclusive budget that largely accommodates the interests of stakeholders in the Niger Delta region.
He said: “Stakeholders will have an opportunity to tell the NDDC the kind of projects they want in their areas of operations, so that they can be included in the budget. That is the plan for the NDDC budget for 2024. Henceforth, NDDC will capture every stakeholder in its budget; state governments, the IOCs, traditional institutions, everybody should be included in it. It will be an all-inclusive budget of the people of the Niger Delta.”
However, before coming up with the all-inclusive 2024 budget, the Commission had to deal with what the Managing Director described as a dysfunctional situation. “We met a situation where the Commission had no approved budget for 2021 and 2022.” Thankfully, the budgets for the two years, as well as that of 2023 have now been passed by the National Assembly.
With the budget in place, more projects and programmes will begin to roll out. In the light of this, the new concept developed by the Commission to work with the Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce in the training of youths and young entrepreneurs in the Niger Delta region, has every reason to succeed.
The plan, according to the NDDC boss, was to collaborate with the Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce to support Small and Medium Enterprises in the Niger Delta region.
He said: “For the new scheme to be successful, it will revolve around a Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce that will strengthen young entrepreneurs in the region. The goal is to stop a situation where youths will be at home and be receiving stipends. Hence, the Commission is changing its Youth Volunteer programme to Youth Internship Programme where youths will be attached to organisations for one year to learn skills.”
In the area of education, the NDDC under Ogbuku interacted with Vice Chancellors of four universities in the Niger Delta region and the dominant issue on the table was how to begin partnerships that will encourage research to help in finding solutions to some of the problems bedevilling the society.
Ogbuku said that partnering with universities in academic research will make it possible to produce life-saving vaccines, as well as finding lasting solutions for medical and social problems.
The Management also held a meeting with contractors working for the Commission and called for cooperation from them to resolve issues around the burgeoning debt profile of the Commission.
To find a solution, the NDDC leadership says it is willing to accept solutions that will lead to the reduction of the Commission’s debt profile.
As part of the measures taken to address the challenges posed by a huge debt profile, the Commission started reviewing all disilting contracts before payments were made.
Today, the NDDC has sufficiently watered the grounds for public, private partnerships to flourish alongside contributions from stakeholders to bring about economic prosperity, as well as ensure social and political stability in the Niger Delta region.
According to Ogbuku, the NDDC is assuming its rightful position as a vehicle to drive the socio-economic development of Nigeria’s oil-rich region.
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