The buzz around the corruption and waste at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) appears to be dying down, but the problem of underdevelopment in the region still persists. Despite the huge payments that accrue to the NDDCyearly, the commission has earned a reputation for having substandard and abandoned projects scattered across the Niger Delta region. In 2017, for example, the NDDC got more money than the Federal Government’s allocation to 4 Niger Delta states (Imo, Abia, Cross River, Ondo) put together. Most commentaries have focused on statutory allocation to the Commission with little attention to the mandatory payments by oil and gas companies operating in the region, who are required by law to pay to the NDDC three percent of their annual budgets, an amount that often surpasses what comes in from the federal purse.
