NIGERIA: DELTA STATE NDDC & NATIONAL OIL SPILL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 LAGOS 000249 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - HANDLE ACCORDINGLY SIPDIS DOE FOR GPERSON, CHAYLOCK TREASURY FOR DFIELDS, AIERONIMO, RHALL DOC FOR 3317/ITA/OA/KBURRESS STATE PASS USTR FOR AGAMA STATE PASS USAID FOR GWEYNAND AND SLAWAETZ E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL SENV EPET ECON NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: DELTA STATE NDDC & NATIONAL OIL SPILL AGENCY DISCUSS CHALLENGES, SUCCESS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED; HANDLE ACCORDINGLY ¶1. (SBU) Summary: A Delta State Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) representative told Poloff on May 6 that state NDDC offices are now empowered to create a due process mechanism similar to that adopted by the national office in Port Harcourt. Delta State's three large road construction projects are useful, but smaller school, road, and canalization projects are most needed by communities at the present time. National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) representatives told Poloffs on May 6 that their organization works closely with international oil companies and communities to assess and advise on the clean up of oil spills in the Niger Delta, and plans to work with state oil producing area development commissions (OPADECS). End Summary. -------------- Delta NDDC "Succeeds" at Small Projects -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Dr. Evelyn Urhobo, the Delta State Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) coordinator, told Poloffs on May 6 that she was exasperated by NDDC critics' claim that the Commission's budget is a secret; she said incoming funds and project information is published. (Note: Upon request we received a list of over 349 projects in Delta State which shows each project's contract sum, contractor, project description, duration, and current status. End Note.) Urhobo said 245 billion naira (USD 2 billion) has been withheld from the NDDC by the GON; the authorization for the funds has now expired, and the Federal Government can no longer issue them to the NDDC. The national NDDC office based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, created a due process office last year, Urhobo said, and individual state NDDC offices can now do so as well. ¶3. (SBU) Although the NDDC has been criticized for having failed to complete many large projects, Urhobo said, it is important to remember that until a year ago, the NDDC had no master plan from which to work. As a result, the NDDC completed an assortment of uncoordinated projects. The master plan now clearly maps out the projects which will be undertaken. Urhobo said the Delta State NDDC commissioned over thirty projects in early May. Among these were road and canalization projects in the riverine areas as well as rural electrification, for which NDDC will use generators until these communities can be linked to the national grid. The communities have trouble affording the fuel to run the generators, Urhobo admitted, but local governments, which are responsible for electrification, must begin to assume responsibility in this area. ¶4. (SBU) The NDDC has a poor track record at finding potable water through its borehole projects. Drilling has been either too deep or too shallow to find the water bed. In those cases when the water table has been found, oil and salt water have infiltrated the water supply, damaging the source. The national NDDC office has appointed a special committee of experts to look into the problem and determine how better to deliver water to the communities. The NDDC may consider treating water at borehole sites, Urhobo said, but this was an expensive solution that the communities find it difficult to maintain. (Note: Once drilled, boreholes become the responsibility of the community to maintain. End Note) ¶5. (SBU) Urhobo detailed three large road projects in various states of planning or completion. One is the 60 billion naira (USD 500 million) Koko-Ogheya road crossing northern Delta state and connecting inland areas to the sea; the NDDC and Delta State Government are discussing sharing the cost of this project. The second project is the Amadino-Escravos road, a USD 300 million naira project and the third is the Bomadi extension road to Forcados which is partially completed. The Koko-Ogheya road, she noted, will link oil producing states and provide an alternate access road to LAGOS 00000249 002 OF 003 Lagos; planning these linkages was one of the great achievements of the Niger Delta Master Plan. Delta State Governor Uduaghan reportedly approached the NDDC in early May to express his interest in beginning an NDDC governors council to help synchronize other projects that affect more than one State. ¶6. (SBU) The Delta State NDDC's crowning achievement, in Urhobo's opinion, was the construction of a road between two riverine communities that had never before had access to one another. Even if people can't afford vehicles, the road makes it easier to hike between the two communities, she said. Urhobo also applauded the Commission's classroom projects because they directly affect communities and draw many children back to school. She thought schools were a better investment and more immediately met the needs of a community than road construction projects. ¶7. (SBU) Urhobo described the NDDC as an interventionist agency that builds roads and structures (schools, hospitals, etc.) and then turns them over to the state government, which is responsible for employing workers and providing maintenance for the facility. She admitted the NDDC has not followed up to assess whether the state government has carried out its responsibilities. -------------- --- National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency -------------- --- ¶8. (SBU) On May 6 Poloffs also met Benjamin Akindele, Assistant Director of the Warri Zonal Office of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) which covers Edo, Ondo and Delta states. (Note: NOSDRA's eastern zonal office in Port Harcourt covers Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states. End Note.) Akindele said NOSDRA is responsible for preventing, detecting and responding to oil spills. Akindele explained that NOSDRA is most often first notified of oil spills by international oil companies (IOCs),who contain the spill, until NOSDRA conducts a joint investigation with communities. ¶9. (SBU) The Director noted that more than 90 percent of spills are caused by communities. Therefore it is imperative communities learn to respect their environment instead of willfully damaging pipelines for economic gain, he said. He noted that the IOC's historical practice of compensating communities for oil spills has taught communities that the larger the spill, the greater the compensation. However, now it is NOSDRA that determines the cause of the spill and who was responsible (equipment failure, accident, community bunkering, etc.) and then develops an appropriate response. ¶10. (SBU) The Director criticized the Ondo, Edo, and Delta State oil producing area development commissions (OPADECs) for failing to stop or even to try to change community opinions towards pipeline damage. The Director said he hopes to work with the OPADECS in the future. Illegal oil bunkering offers financial incentives to the region's indigenes and youth who otherwise have no source of income. ¶11. (SBU) NOSDRA's overall assessment of the region was that the health of Niger Delta citizens is worsening because of the increasing frequency of oil spills. He noted that youth are eager to be employed during cleanup projects. If additional employment opportunities are offered them, there are likely to be fewer spills, he said. ¶12. (SBU) Comment: That NDDC has had funds withheld is only a partial explanation for the agency's failure to develop the Niger Delta. However, historically, the institution has been rife with corruption and problems with incomplete projects. Although some of the effort to improve NDDC is noteworthy, the organization needs more transparency and oversight. On the plus side, NOSDRA's desire to work more closely with oil LAGOS 00000249 003 OF 003 producing development commissions may help improve cooperation between the myriad of government agencies operating in the Delta. End Comment. ¶13. (U) This cable has been cleared by Embassy Abuja. BLAIR