NDDC urged to dismantle bureaucratic red tape

A professor of Political Science, Sylvester Odion Akhaine, has urged the Niger Delta Development Commission to dismantle bureaucratic red tape, prioritise staff welfare, and ensure value for money in regional interventions.

 Akhaine gave the charge on Thursday while delivering the keynote address at the NDDC Annual Masterclass on Corporate Service Excellence, themed ‘Beyond Service Delivery: Institutional Accountability, Stakeholder Satisfaction and Sustainable Development Outcomes in NDDC’.

 The scholar lamented that government offices no longer acknowledge citizens’ correspondence, contrasting the trend with past civil service standards.

 “The Nigerian civil service is dying,” Akhaine declared. “In those days, whether the government would answer your prayer in the letter or not, the first thing they did was to acknowledge your letter. Today, you can write 20 letters and get no single acknowledgement. Our personnel in the NDDC must understand how important this is; we must tame red tape and not create artificial boundaries in administration.”

 The keynote speaker noted that despite the Niger Delta accounting for over 50 per cent of Nigeria’s national income and more than 87 per cent of export proceeds, the region continues to suffer a severe development deficit, high inequality, and lack of basic amenities such as potable water and motorable roads like the East-West Road to Calabar.

 He stressed that institutional accountability must go beyond physical structures to encompass financial discipline, fidelity to expenditure targets without misappropriation, and collective responsibility.

 “For institutional accountability, the buck stops with all the actors within the institution, not just the CEO or the Managing Director,” he said. “A man who has not eaten does not even understand the meaning of freedom. The well-being of the workforce is vital if we want to achieve high productivity and continuity.”

 Earlier in his welcome address, the NDDC Executive Director, Corporate Services, Ifedayo Abegunde, noted that the commission’s effectiveness could no longer be judged solely by the volume of projects awarded or funds deployed, but by governance quality, internal process efficiency, and measurable public value.

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 “Our effectiveness as a Commission cannot be measured exclusively by the number of projects executed, the resources deployed or the programmes initiated,” the EDCS stated. “It must also be measured by the quality of our governance, the efficiency of our internal processes, the integrity of our operations, the satisfaction of our stakeholders and, ultimately, the development outcomes we deliver to the people.”

 Also speaking during the technical session on workplace wellness, a management consultant, Dr Oladimeji Ashade, urged the commission to institutionalise occupational health and curb “always-on” after-hours work cultures to prevent staff burnout and administrative errors.

 Citing World Health Organisation and International Labour Organisation data linking long working hours and psychosocial strain to cardiovascular risks and reduced productivity, Ashade warned staff against neglecting their health for official duties.

 “While you are alive, you can work, pursue a promotion, dream new dreams and set new goals,” Ashade said.

 “When you are gone, someone else can fill your position, and they may even do the job better. The office will carry on, but your immediate family will feel the pain of your absence. Give your best at work, and give your health the same care.”