The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, says that the Commission needs sustainable partnerships that will enhance the lives of the people and contribute to the development of the Niger Delta region.
Speaking when he hosted a delegation from the Stanbic IBTC Bank at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, Ogbuku stated that the Commission will collaborate with partners that bring feasible and long-term solutions to the development challenges in the region.
Ogbuku said: “Right now, our core policy focus is partnerships that will bring positive changes to the Niger Delta region. We are working on our internal governance systems to ensure that we comply with global best practices.
“Partnerships should not be solely profit-driven. Sustainability should be at the forefront of whatever we are doing. We require a mutually beneficial partnership that outlives our tenure.”
The NDDC boss stressed the need for adequate funding and urged the Stanbic IBTC delegation to come up with tailored solutions that would boost the activities of the NDDC and its staff Cooperative Society, as well as the NDDC Staff Microfinance Bank.
He informed the visitors that the Commission was supporting the staff cooperative to raise the NDDC Staff Microfinance Bank to a regional Microfinance Bank. He called on the delegation from the bank to assist the NDDC Staff Microfinance Bank as a means of building a sustainable relationship with the Commission.
Speaking earlier, the leader of the delegation and Country Head, Public Sector Group, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Hadjia Hauwa Bello, commended Ogbuku for the successes recorded since he took the leadership mantle at the NDDC. She informed the NDDC boss that the Bank’s delegation was at the Commission’s headquarters to partner with the NDDC, it Staff Cooperative Society and the Staff Microfinance Bank and provide its financial services, support and solutions to the Commission and its staff.
In a related courtesy visit by a delegation from e-Tranzact, a financial technology company, the Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Ogunji Emmanuel, made a presentation on “Digital Solution Propositions for NDDC Microfinance Bank.”
He said his firm was seeking partnership with NDDC to digitize the Microfinance Bank, and also assist the Commission to deploy technology in driving the process of development.
Ogunji said: “We want to effectively position NDDC Microfinance Bank as a platform that will make financial products and services accessible and affordable to individuals and businesses in the Niger Delta region.”
He noted: “The goal of the NDDC is development. So, our partnership services include development and management of secure end-to-end, real-time and online collection and disbursement system that consolidates income and expenditure activities across all NDDC operations into a central information pool.”
Responding, the NDDC Managing Director observed that, apart from providing support for the Staff Microfinance Bank, the financial technology company should also assist the Commission in building a robust digital infrastructure for its Holistic Opportunity Projects and Engagement, HOPE, launched recently.
