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One word rings out for Professor Kemebradikumo Daniel Pondei as he mounts the saddle as the acting managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The professor of virology knows too well that his assignment at the foremost interventionist agency has nothing to do with viruses. Rather, it has everything to do with human and infrastructural development of the Niger Delta region.
To succeed in his new task, he has no choice but to adopt teamwork as a password. Considering the operating environment at the NDDC, there can be no better option than working as a united force. An astute industrialist, Andrew Carnegie, puts it thus: “Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”
When you have the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, as your supervisor, you must be familiar with the phrase “uncommon transformation.”
Pondei has what it takes to assume the task of repositioning of the NDDC, along with the other members of the expanded Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the commission.
He has a duty to work seamlessly with the acting executive director, finance and administration, Chief Ibanga Bassey Etang, acting executive director, projects, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, former vice president of the African Development Bank, Cecilia Bukola Akintomide, and Mrs. Caroline Nagbo, who are members of the IMC.
Pondei is not new to undertaking challenging tasks and he hopes to build on his wealth of experience to succeed. He commands a leadership style that inspires and brings out the best in workers. He is imbued with the confidence and conviction that drives the pursuit of team work and excellence.
Pondei, as a seasoned administrator, has the capacity to manage a complex institution like the NDDC, especially for the purpose of midwifing the expected forensic audit ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The President did well to expand the membership of the IMC as it has now made room for diverse interests and groups in the Niger Delta to coalesce with a common goal. It also helped to douse the tense atmosphere arising from the disbandment of the ill-fated substantive board.
The new acting managing director is expected to be responsive to the yearnings of the people of Niger Delta who believe that, while the IMC was set up to oversee the forensic audit, it does not mean that the primary responsibility of the commission would be put in abeyance. Many stakeholders in the region believe that supervising the forensic audit should not stop the NDDC from embarking on its developmental projects.
Some of the stakeholders and kinsmen of the NDDC boss, while throwing their weight behind him, cautioned that he must try to avoid the mistakes of his predecessors.
Both the governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, and his predecessor, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson, urged Pondei to pull up his bootstraps for the onerous assignment.
Diri said: “I trust Prof. Pondei is fully aware of the abundant failed policies, projects and endless wastages, which clearly accounted for the many years of underperformance of the NDDC, for which our state has always raised concerns.”
Diri called on him to use the opportunity of his appointment to foster greater collaboration with all the governors of the Niger Delta region and leaders at various levels to redirect the NDDC towards greater heights.
Dickson, on his part, described Pondei as a hardworking professional and urged him to use his experience to clean up the NDDC for optimum performance. He said: “I call on Prof. Pondei, whom I have always known as a competent and hardworking man, to use his wealth of experience to sanitise the NDDC.”
He remarked that Pondei’s appointment was an affirmation of confidence in his ability to turn things around in the NDDC but also places the Niger Delta region on a path to prosperity, judging by his antecedent in various positions he has held.
Similarly, a coalition of Niger Delta groups urged Pondei to work in harmony with staff and major stakeholders, partner all governors in the nine Niger Delta states and avoid the temptation of being partisan with development and ensure only genuine and completed jobs were paid for after proper investigations had been carried out.
At his first interaction with management and staff of the NDDC, shortly after assuming office at the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, Pondei pledged to make radical changes in the activities of the commission to enhance its service delivery.
The new CEO harped on the need to change a number of things at the NDDC, noting: “We need to have quality assurance because we must have measurable performance indicators in every unit and department.”
According to Pondei: “By my training, I am a problem solver and I pray that members of the IMC will work together to solve problems. The NDDC has existed for about 20 years, rising from the ashes of the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC).
“A 20-year-old child that still needs to take breast milk is in trouble. By extension, the NDDC is in trouble. Luckily, President Muhammadu Buhari feels for the Niger Delta. This feeling is also shared by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs. Their concerns led to the decision to try to adopt new methods in tackling the problems of the Niger Delta. They decided that, since we have done the same thing, using the same method over and over again and getting the same result, it was time to try something different.”
Pondei said members of the new NDDC interim management had resolved to work together as an indivisible team. He, however, remarked that the IMC needed to also work in harmony with the NDDC management and staff.
“We are not supposed to be the way we are. We are not supposed to be at the same level with other parts of the country. We are supposed to be different, considering what we contribute to the economy of this country,” he said.
The CEO told the NDDC staff: “We must come up with ways of improving on our service delivery. We need to drive this seriously. We must pay serious attention to efficiency and quality. Every department will need to come up with new work plans and we need to have measurable indices in those work plans.”
However, the new problem solver admitted that the IMC met a lot of obstacles when it assumed duty. Nonetheless, he said: “For the time we are here, we will do everything within our power and with the resources available to change the narrative of the Niger Delta region.”
The new NDDC helmsman is a professor of medical microbiology with specialty in virology and was the provost of the College of Health Sciences, Niger Delta University, until his new appointment.
He attended the Federal Government College, Port Harcourt, before proceeding to the University of Lagos, where he earned a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, MBBS.
From the University of Lagos, he proceeded to the School of Molecular Medical Sciences, University of Nottingham, for his Ph.D in microbiology.
Delivering the 36th lecture series of the Niger Delta University on April 17, 2019, titled “Viruses: Ignored, Neglected, Poorly Understood with Resulting Devastating Consequences,” Pondei said he chose the topic not to frighten anyone, but to state the current knowledge of viruses in Bayelsa State and Nigeria.
