NDDC MD Urges Directors to Shun Tribalism, Nepotism, Political Tendencies

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

The acting Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, has admonished the directors of the Commission to avoid tribalism, nepotism and other negative tendencies capable of derailing the vision of the new management to deliver and positively change the narrative in the Niger Delta region.

Ogbuku, gave the admonition during his closing remarks in Abuja, yesterday, at the end of a two-week workshop on strategic management and leadership for directors of the agency organised by the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON).

He stressed that his expectation was to see directors who understand that they were career civil servants, and aspiring to get to their peak as professionals.

According to him, nepotism does not complement but was alien to administration, adding that administration was all about excellence.

“So, since administration is about excellence, you must speak the language of administration, and in speaking the language of administration,  you must act the language of administration.

“So, when you speak and act the language of administration, those antibodies to administration must never be in you; meaning that you purge yourselves of anything that negates administration.”

He commended the directors of the Commission for their exemplary conduct in the course of the training as testified by the Director General of ASCON, Mrs. Cecilia Gayya.

According to him, the whole idea of sending them for the training was to ensure they take the administrative knowledge acquired back to the agency in order to make a difference in the Commission for the overall benefit of the region.

“The whole idea of sending you for this programme is to ensure you bring back your experience back, improve the administration and ensure that things were done differently.

“The new directors need to understand your roles, you need to understand your boundaries, they need to understand their strengths. They need to understand when to use them and when not to.

“They need to understand that they are public servants and not civil servants. So, these are some of the things we thought you ought to be equipped with to know,” he said.

Ogbuku, urged them to understand that they were not politicians and should therefore not dabble into political activities in order not to destabilise the Commission.

He noted that there had been instances in the past where staff of the NDDC were enmeshed in political antics.

Ogbuku, stated that by virtue of their training and induction by ASCON, the directors should not only avail NDDC of their experience but become worthy ambassadors of ASCON.

ASCON, he added, was a reputable institution that trained many senior citizens of the country and officials of  top organisations, adding that the directors were fortunate to be among the beneficiaries of the top-notch knowledge imparted by the college.

Ogbuku advised the directors that in their conduct and actions, they should understand their roles, and  know their boundaries, stressing that what mattered was not the duration of the training.

According to him, what mattered most was that they were taught by experienced people, expressing the belief that the directors would see some of the teachers as role models as well as mentors.

He stressed that one of the things lacking in the public service was the paucity of public mentor for servants.

The acting NDDC boss expressed the hope that by the time the directors would resume next week, he would be seeing a rejuvenated staff strength  directors  who will understand their boundaries and not directors warming up to be acting CEOs of the Commission.

In her closing address, the Director General of ASCON, Mrs. Cecilia Gayya noted that

the programme  was carefully designed and implemented to provide  the needed knowledge, skills and capacity to adequately and promptly discharge their responsibilities and thus, make meaningful contributions towards the attainment of the mission and vision of the NDDC.