Prof Kemebradikumo Pondei

NDDC, IFAD Partner to Improve Rural Agriculture in Niger Delta

ksmar November 20, 2020 Business, Headlines Leave a comment 625 Views

By Joel Anekwe 

The acting managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Prof. Kemebradikumo Pondei, has said that the goal of the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises Programme in the Niger Delta, LIFE-ND, is to transform the rural economy of the region and improve the livelihood of its citizens.

The LIFE-ND programme is a partnership between the commission and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD, which is expected to help to bring people of the region back to agriculture.

Speaking during the inauguration of the Technical Support Committee for the LIFE-ND programme at the NDDC new headquarters in Port Harcourt, Prof Pondei said it was necessary to activate the relevant committees, involving the IFAD, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and NDDC, to provide all the necessary support required for the successful implementation of the LIFE-ND programme.

The NDDC chief executive lamented that while the programmes had progressed appreciably in other parts of the country, it had not done so well in the Niger Delta region because of funding challenges, adding that the challenges were gradually being overcome as the programme had taken off in six states of the region.

In his remarks, the NDDC director, Agriculture and Fisheries, Mr Doodei Week, said the focus on agriculture would help to diversify the resource base of the country and reduce the dependence on oil and gas in the Niger Delta.

He said that the Technical Support Committee of the LIFE-ND programme was the second-tier of the project implementation, noting that it had a financing agreement which mandates the committee to periodically review the progress of the programme and ensure that it is in line with the original design.

He said: “We are happy that so far, the project is subsisting after being launched over one year ago. Six states of Abia, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Ondo have already kicked off. Incubators and incubates have been selected and the national office, funded by NDDC, is already operational.”

He added that the partnership between IFAD and the NDDC would enhance the opportunities of youths and women and also alleviate poverty in the Niger Delta region by creating employment opportunities that would meaningfully engage the youths and women.

The national project coordinator for LIFE-ND programme, Engr. Abiodun Sanni, emphasized that it would enhance the income, food security and job creation for rural youths and women through agricultural enterprise development on a sustainable basis in the Niger Delta.

Engr. Sanni said that the implementation would be facilitated by different committees, including the National Steering Committee, Technical Support Committee and State Project Site

Sanni said the LIFE-ND programme would enhance the income, food security and job creation for rural youths and women through agricultural enterprise development on a sustainable basis in the Niger Delta.

Also speaking, a representative of the director, Project Coordinating Unit, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Bassey Unaowo, said that LIFE-ND was planned with a financing gap of six years, adding that it had both a first phase of six years, with parallel finance from NDDC and an additional six years to be financed by other partners and additional IFAD loan.

He regretted that the LIFE-ND programme had been slowed down in the Niger Delta because of funding challenges.

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By Paul Williams   Freight forwarders and truckers at Onne Port in Rivers State have threatened to shut down operations over the poor condition of the port’s access roads and the manner in which the e-call-up system recently introduced by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is being implemented.  Six associations operating at the port, along with the Onne Youths Congress, the umbrella body for youths in Onne Community, noted that despite the huge resources accruing from Onne Port, the access roads leading to the port had become a death trap.  The associations on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, issued a four-day ultimatum to the Federal Government and the Nigerian Ports Authority to suspend the e-call-up system until facilities such as loading bays are provided and dilapidated access roads are repaired.  Chairman of ANLCA, Onne Seaport Chapter, Chief Ifeanyi Isikaku, while reading a communique, expressed the associations’ deep concern and frustration over worsening operating conditions for members and the host community.  The unions said NPA rolled out the e-call-up system without first providing adequate holding bays, prompting “the unabated illegal parking of trucks on Onne roads that has choked traffic, damaged goods and exposed workers and residents to danger.”  They also described the port’s internal access roads as “deplorable” and a “death trap,” blaming the road condition for container-fall incidents, injuries and loss of life.  Isikaku said, “We can no longer tolerate unfulfilled NPA commitments and roads that endanger lives and destroy goods. If holding bays had been provided before the e-call-up rollout, this crisis would have been avoided.”  He pointed out that the situation is unfortunate for a port that has contributed up to N487 billion in Customs revenue alone to the federal coffers.  Isikaku said Customs revenue from Onne Port Command between January and July 2026 was approximately N439 billion, with an additional N48 billion from the Oil and Gas Free Zone — a combined N487 billion over seven months.  He called on the Federal Government, through the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, to allocate a portion of that revenue to fix and maintain internal roads and port facilities.  “Onne contributes significantly to national revenue; a fraction of the N487 billion collected between January and July should be used to repair our roads and protect workers and the host community,” he said.  The unions, among other things, demanded an immediate end to illegal parking on Onne roads to restore free traffic flow, urgent maintenance and repair of all internal access roads to prevent container falls and safeguard lives, and a ban on members’ participation in arbitrary or bogus payments associated with the e-call-up system and port transport.  Chairman of the Maritime Union of Nigeria, Eastern Port, Uche Ogbu, whose union bears the brunt of the dilapidated roads, said, “Our members will not be compelled to make arbitrary payments for a system that lacks the infrastructure to work.”  He noted the unions’ resolve on the suspension of the e-call-up system from Monday, August 17, 2026, until adequate holding bays are constructed to accommodate current truck volumes; the suspension will remain in place until all listed challenges are addressed.  …

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