NDDC: More questions over $15bn rail project MOU

By Debo Adelowo
Barely three months after the new Management Board of the Niger Delta Development
Commission (NDDC) was sworn into office, the familiar problems of bogus contracts, board
divisions and misplaced priorities have surfaced. Since the last two weeks, the intervention
agency has been in the news as it emerged that the Chairman of the Board, Lauretta Onochie is
on a warpath with the management.

The disagreement this time is over a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the
management led by the Managing Director Dr Samuel Ogbuku and a US based company
Atlanta Global Resources Incorporate (AGRI) to construct a rail line from Lagos to Calabar,
which will cover all Niger Delta states. While Onochie said that the MOU was not approved by
the Board, the management is insisting that it was and it is within the powers of the
management to enter into such an agreement.

The $15 billion contract MOU immediately raises red flags, which were clear to many watchers
despite the fact that there were top government officials present at the event in Lagos, including
the Niger Delta Minister Umana Umana and former Governor of Edo State and Senator elect
Adams Oshiomhole.

The first is that Chairman Onochie was visibly absent for an event of that nature that required
Board approval. The second is the project itself. The Lagos to Calabar rail project is one that the
Federal Government has been talking about for over 15 years. In fact, the immediate past
Transportation Minister in the current administration Rotimi Amaechi had promised to
commence and complete the rail project upon his assumption of office in 2015. As recently as
March 2021 at the convocation ceremony of the University of Calabar Amaechi again vowed
that work would commence on the project as it had been awarded, only to complain last year
that there was no money to find it. The Amaechi Lagos to Calabar rail project was valued at
$11.7 billion; the NDDC version is $15 billion.

The announcement has got people wondering if indeed it is the same project or two different
projects being talked about here because no mention was made of whether the federal
government had moved the project to the NDDC to handle. If it did, the question would be how it
expects the NDDC, which depends on allocations from the national purse and oil companies
and is barely able to find an annual budget of N400 billion (less than a billion dollars), to finance
the project. For instance the total project sum of $15 billion is about N7 billion at the official
exchange rate of N461.5 to the dollar. The NDDC annual budgets since its establishment in
2000 is just about N6 trillion of which less than half was funded over the last 23 years. What then is the prospect of what many people are describing as a white elephant project in the
making.

In pushing back on the project, Onochie described it as “illegal” and “dubious.” According to the
chairman, “My attention and the entire Board’s have been drawn to a publication in some
National dailies of the purported signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between a
US firm, “Atlanta Global Resources Inc.” and the NDDC, whose Board I chair, for the
“construction of a mega rail project across the Niger Delta, from Lagos to Calabar”. This was
done without my knowledge and without the authorisation nor consent of the Board,” the
statement reads.

“Everything about this shady “MOU” is illegal due to the following reasons:
(a) By the act establishing the NDDC (Act No 6, of 2000), it is the Chairman of the board that is
solely vested with the power to sign MOUs with any organisation.

“Part II of the NDDC Act, Section 8, sub sections (a) and (e), among other provisions,
specifically state inter Alia; The Board shall have power to:
(a)manage and supervise affairs of the Commission,…
(e)enter into such contracts as may be necessary or expedient for the discharge of its functions
and ensure the efficient performance of the functions of the Commission.

“And the Supplementary provision of the Act as relating to the Board (Section 4, sub-section 1)
clearly retains the Seal of the Commission in the Office of the Chairman.

“(b) The “US company”, Atlanta Global Resources Inc., has no expertise nor experience in any
form of construction, let alone, Railway construction. This company is a Management and
Export Consulting Firm is without known notable Directors.

“Thus, the signing of an MOU to the tune of $15 billion(USD) with such an organisation is not
only suspect but dubious.

“(c) The Federal Executive Council (FEC), having recognised the importance of infrastructure in
the Niger Delta region had awarded the Contract for the same project in 2021 at the sum of
$11.7 billion for the construction of a Mega railway from Lagos to Sagamu, Sagamu to Ijebu-
Ode, Ijebu-Ode to Ore, Ore to Benin City, Benin-City to Sapele, Sapele to Warri, Warri to
Yenogoa, Yenegoa to Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt to Aba, Aba to Uyo, Uyo to Calabar, Calabar
to Akamkpa and to Ikom, Obudu Ranch with branch lines from Benin-City to Agbor, Ogwashi-
Uku, Asaba, Onitsha and Onitsha Bridge and then Port Harcourt to Onne Deep Sea Port.
“It is shocking that after the FEC, the highest ruling body in the country, had done this, that
anyone would be signing an MOU on behalf of the NDDC and the Federal Government of
Nigeria for the same project in 2023 without due process nor approval by the FEC in the twilight
of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

“The same clumsy, shady and hazy transactions of the past in NDDC, that had bedevilled and
stultified identifiable progress in the past, was rested with the “Forensic Audit” and the
Inauguration of a New Board, with the Sanitisation of the Commission as its mantra. 

However, old habits die hard. And some individuals (within and without the Commission) still retain the
retrogressive mindset that has held the Commission down for the past 22 years. We cannot
remain in the old dubious path.

“The Present Board is set on Transparency, Equity, Justice and Equality, and ready to midwife
and embrace other policies and programmes that would uplift and improve the lives of the good
people of Niger Delta. With dilligence, perseverance, persistence and commitment, this Vision
would come to pass.
“We, therefore, call on all our partners and stakeholders in this quest – CBN (TSA), The Ministry
of Niger Delta, The National Assembly, Our nine States’ Governors (Advisory Board), Our
Traditional rulers, Youth Population, etc., to take note.
“NDDC has not and could not have signed an MOU, worth $15 billion (USD) without the Board
and FEC’s approval.

“The so-called MOU signed with Atlanta Global Resources Inc. “AGRI”, is hereby disowned by
the Board and declared null and void.”
Soon after the Chairman’s statement and apparently to avert a more ugly consequence, with
stakeholders already calling for the removal of the management, the NDDC through its
corporate affairs director reacted in a statement where it said, it only signed an ‘MOU FOR

PRELIMINARY PROCESSES.’
In the statement signed by Ibitoye Abosede, its director of corporate affairs, the NDDC
said:“What we signed on April 25 is simply the opening phase that will determine how far we will
go, but it definitely showcases how interested the international partners are in tapping into the
Niger Delta region.”

“The Niger Delta Development Commission appreciates the need to be seen; to be
accountable, and transparent, as it collaborates with its stakeholders in the arduous task of
developing the Niger Delta region.

“At the Public Private Partnerships, PPP, Summit, which we organised in Lagos on Tuesday,
April 25, 2023, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, with a United States-based
firm, Atlanta Global Resources Inc., AGRI, to build a railway network that will connect the nine
states of the Niger Delta region.

“We have been inundated with enquiries over what is ordinarily one of the preliminary steps
necessary for the actualization of a partnership arrangement with the private sector.

“All we signed at the PPP Summit was a basic MOU to commence the preliminary processes of
feasibility and viability of the rail project. It did not include any agreement on details.

“It is only after the preliminary studies that the financial appraisals will be done, and then the
civil engineering procurements and the locomotive hardware will be considered.

“It (MOU) has many ramifications at the highest level of government. It is also not unaware of
the Federal Government contract of 2021 for rail line construction, however, the proposed
network covered by the MOU is on a different alignment.

“Obviously, many things will be involved and it comes in the mould of the NLNG train 7.”

“We are also aware that there must be sovereign guarantees which can only be granted by the
Federal Government, after which it will seek the approval of the National Assembly.
“What we signed on April 25 is simply the opening phase that will determine how far we will go,
but it definitely showcases how interested the international partners are in tapping into the Niger
Delta region. They are swarming in droves. This indicates that we are looking at a bright and
prosperous Niger Delta from the prism of the PPP.

“We expect that there will be challenges, especially at this initial stage, but that will not
discourage us in any way. Understandably, going public to celebrate our little success is
attracting bigger investors and interests. Out of ten, one or two might be successful to the
benefit of the region.”

While the statement gave the impression that the decision to embark on the MOU is that of the
Board and the management, Onochie clearly is not in the know, it seems. Or, is she a spoiler?
Apart from Onochie who is the Chairman, other members include Dimga Erugba (Abia), Emem
Wills (Akwa Ibom), Dimaro Denyanbofa (Bayelsa), Oruk Duke (Cross River), Gbenga Edema
(Ondo) and Elekwachi Dinkpa (Rivers). Others are Mohammed Abubakar (Nasarawa), Sule-Iko
Sani (Kebbi), and Tahir Mamman (Adamawa) The management is headed by Samuel Ogbuku
(Bayelsa) MD for a term of two years, Charles Airhiavbere (Edo) Director of Finance and
Charles Ogunmola (Ondo) Director of Projects.

The Board was sworn in on January 3rd this year. Its internal Crisis is typical since 2000. In the
first Board.and Management, the Chairman Onyema Ugochukwu operated like an executive
chairman and created difficulties which culminated in the resignation of the pioneer MD Godwin
Omene, a former Shell too executive. Onyema’s template established a culture where the
chairmen behaved like executive chairmen contrary to the Act, which vests management in the
MD. This persisted for so long until the recent Board with Onochie as Chairman.

In fact, some sources say Onochie’s opposition, despite the soundness of her arguments, is
because the management has clipped her wings. It was alleged that after the board was sworn
in Onochie attempted to take over some of the powers of the MD and this was resisted.

According to a report, she wanted to appoint as many as 18 personal assistants, which the
Management refused on grounds of prudent management. Following that there has been a cold
blood between both officers and this has manifested in the boycott of meetings called by either
of them.

But NDDC image maker Dr Abosede denied the reports, saying that there was no truth in them.
According to him, it was Onochie herself who “insisted on a drastic reduction in the number of
aides attached to Board members.”

The current contract MOU is however not going away, with regional stakeholders asking for
investigation by the police and anti graft agencies. Mr Timi Frank, who is a former deputy
national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) described the action of the
NDDC as “illegal,” since only the Chairman of the Governing Board of the NDDC is vested with
powers to enter into such MOU.

In his statement, he noted that: “It is worthy to note, that as part of the responsibility of the
Governing Board of the NDDC, as empowered by its establishment Act No 6, 2000, only the
Chairman is vested with the sole power to sign contracts or MoUs with any firm or organization.

“It is curious therefore, as to how only the Managing Director and a selected few in connivance
with the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs would proceed to sign an MoU without the prior
knowledge of the Chairman, but rather justifying an ultra vires action.

“The position of the NDDC management in its reaction affirming that the $15billion Railway MoU
was signed for the preliminary process for a railway network and not an award of contract,
suggests that ongoing talks with this company is another calculated attempt to defraud the Niger
Delta people in the guise of ‘Preliminary Studies’ for a Trans-Niger Delta Railway.

“This shady MoU without due consultation with the board, carried out by the MD of NDDC,
Samuel Ogbuku, with Atlantic Global Resources Inc, to build a railway network connecting the
nine Niger Delta states can only be described as crass carelessness and outrightly insensitive
at this time.

“Mr Ogbuku must be reminded that the struggle for the attainment of a better Niger Delta was a
battle fought by many and thus as stakeholders in this struggle, we’re mandated to serve the
people relentlessly rather than engaging in the same setbacks of the past.”

“Besides, in pursuit of a better Niger Delta, we’re poised to applaud laudable projects and
disapprove of white elephant projects in this regard.
“It is sad that whilst we continue to hope for overall growth and development of the region, we’re
still confronted with weighty and dubious setbacks detrimental to the positive advancement of
the zone.

“It will be foolhardy to jump on a Trans-Niger Delta Railway network’s feasibility, when the
Federal Executive Council (FEC) had only recently in 2021 awarded an $11.7 Railway contract
that would connect states in the entire region from Lagos.

“It is therefore shocking that an agency of government will seek to override the prior approval of
FEC and initiate another MoU on behalf of the NDDC and the Federal Government for the same
project in 2023 without due process nor approval by FEC in the twilight of President
Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

“The FEC must make its position clear as regards this recent MoU duplicating the project even
as the completion of the East/West Road has since become a mirage with little or nothing done
all these years.”

He added that: “Any form of support in aiding the commission to secure loans for the purpose of
this purported ‘Preliminary Studies’ for the railway construction must be rejected and resisted.

“The Niger Delta people are desirous of more sustainable programmes that positively affect
daily living rather than any phantom project.

“The NDDC must focus on the implementation of its original masterplan, which no board has
achieved since inception and concentrate more on Human Resource Development
programmes, including training of youths, provision of better healthcare, education, etc., and
cease from being used as a conduit in impoverishing the people.”