Emmanuel Ukudolo I Tuesday, Nov.12, 2025
ABUJA, Nigeria — The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC tasked with developing Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta has issued a strong appeal to the region’s traditional rulers, urging them to step up their critical role in ensuring peace and providing community-level guidance for sustainable development projects.
The agency made the call during its Annual Strategic Consultative Feedback Forum for Traditional Rulers, emphasizing that meaningful progress cannot be achieved without the support and local knowledge of the traditional institutions.
Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, the NDDC Managing Director, represented by Hon. Ifedayo Abegunde, the Executive Director for Corporate Governance, described the monarchs as “essential partners” and the “genuine voices” of their people.
“We understand that we can’t truly develop the Niger Delta without your guidance, support, and input,” Mr. Ogbuku’s address stated. “This forum is designed to gather valuable feedback from our traditional institutions, enabling us to understand your communities’ needs and priorities, first-hand.”
The NDDC leadership stressed that the traditional institution, being the closest to the people, is uniquely positioned to mediate and resolve the various controversies and conflicts that plague the region, which is central to Nigeria’s oil production.
”The future of the Niger Delta depends on the peace of its communities. Development cannot thrive amid division,” the Managing Director observed, calling for the strengthening of local conflict resolution mechanisms and the promotion of inclusive dialogue.
In response, several prominent traditional rulers affirmed that peace was an absolute prerequisite for development, but they sharply criticized the current structure that often excludes them from the planning process.
King Felix Mujakperuo, the Orodje of Okpe and National Chairman of the Traditional Rulers of Oil Mineral Producing Communities of Nigeria (TROMPCON), echoed the need for peace, a sentiment reinforced by his representative, King Pere Luke Kalanama. The TROMPCON chairman further suggested that monarchs in contiguous kingdoms should form conflict management committees to help stabilize local areas.
King Sergeant Awuse, Chairman of the South-South Monarchs Forum, argued that providing effective feedback on projects is impossible when traditional rulers are not involved from the start—a current deficiency he called “inimical to effective project delivery.”
Perhaps the strongest critique came from King Alfred Diette-Spiff, the Amayanabo of Twon Brass, who also linked peace to development but lamented the constitutional relegation of traditional rulers.
He likened their current status to being “school children whose names do not appear in the school register,” wondering why the Nigerian Constitution had stripped them of the roles assigned in previous versions.
King Spiff called for a “technically driven” development approach, citing practices in Britain and other Western nations, and expressed a vision for the Niger Delta to be transformed into an industrial hub focused on specializations like the marine industry, construction, agriculture, and fisheries.
The forum concluded with a shared acknowledgement that a renewed partnership, built on mutual respect and the inclusion of community voices, is necessary to move the restive, yet economically vital, region toward sustainable stability and prosperity.
