INTERROGATING THE CONTRIBUTION OF NIGER-DELTA DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION (NDDC) TO THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AKWA IBOM STATE

Abstract

Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was established by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2000 with a mandate to “facilitate the socioeconomic development of the Niger Delta region who has suffered long neglect resulted from the oil exploration in the region.This study entitled Interogating the contribution of Niger-Delta Development Commission on Socio-economic Development of Akwa Ibom State. The study is a survey design. A sample size of 400 was selected from the population of 3,427739. Both primary and secondary data were utilised in the study. Participatory theory propounded by McArdle (1989) was adopted as a framework of analysis.The data generated from the were analyzed with arithemetic simple percentage and linear regression through the application of (SPSS) Model version 23 to test the hypotheses.The paper noted that NDDC has not improved infrastructure in Akwa Ibom State. It also shows NDDC has not improved the welfare of the people. The study noted that corruption and non-inclusion of the stakeholders in the projects desighing and implementation has undermined the realization of NDDC mandates in Akwa Ibom State. Arising from the above, the following recommendations are made that: effort should be made to tackle the corrupt tendencies among the contractors and those identified should adequately purnished to serve as a deterrent to others. The paper also recommended that adequate funding mechanism should put in place to enable the agency effectively execute the programmes that can better the lives of the people in Akwa Ibom State.