About NDBDA

 MISSION:

 The Niger Delta Basin Development Authority is  a service-oriented organization that is positioned  to meet the  water requirements of stakeholders in the most satisfactory  and cost-efficient manner, while ensuring good quality and sanitation and paying adequate attention to the preservation of the ecosystem, using proven technology and a well-motivated workforce.

 VISION:

The vision of the NDBDA is in consonance with that of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources i.e to harness efficiently and effectively the nation's water resources for multi-purpose uses in an integrated and sustainable manner to meet present and future needs. - particularly as it affects the Authority’s area of jurisdiction (Niger Delta Basin).

 VALUES

Our core values remain

-        Customers/stakeholders satisfaction

-        Provision of high quality of water and sanitation

-        Integrity; and

-        Commitment to service

 LIST OF OUR CUSTOMERS

 The service rendered impact on the lives of citizens particularly Nigerians living in the core Niger Delta areas of Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa States.

INTRA OR MINISTERIAL DEPARTMENT/AGENCY CUSTOMERS

Federal Ministry of Water Resources (our parent ministry)

Members of staff of Niger Delta Basin Development Authority

 INTER-MINISTERIAL/GOVERNMENT CUSTOMERS

Ministry, Department and Agency of Federal Government

National Assembly, the Judiciary, State Government and Local Government Authorities.


PERFORMANCE TARGETS/CUSTOMER EXPECTATION

• Our commitments are to:
• close the gap between water requirement and supply up to 80% in the core Niger Delta area by the year 2007;
• rehabilitate, upgrade and expand existing water extraction, treatment plant, distribution lines and infrastructures within the time fund is appropriated;
• carry out appropriate studies within the limits of annual statutory appropriation to ascertain the water requirement of the Authority area of jurisdiction;
• embark on appropriate hydro-meteorological infrastructures and to ensure an efficient monitoring of both surface and underground water level in the Authority’s area of jurisdiction;
• produce appropriate drainage and irrigation infrastructure for local farmers to boost food production within the time fund is appropriated.
• construct appropriate dams and reservoir infrastructure to store water for all year round agricultural uses;
• to monitor the infrastructure already put in place for maintenance by the users/beneficiaries to ensure sustainability and value for the investment;
• to train personnel on the use of the infrastructure/facilities; and
• work through the Honourable Minster of Water Resources and to make input on the funding requirement of the needed infrastructure for unhindered access to safe water and sanitation in the Niger Delta.

Historical background to the  River Basin Development Authorities
The 1958 Nigeria Constitutional Conference agreed that a Niger Delta Development Board should be established, and provision for its establishment was made in the Nigeria (Constitution) (Amendment No. 2) Order in Council, 1959.
Since the colonial era, some policies and programmes within national development plans have been formulated to address the minority status, agitations and perceived marginalization of the people of the delta.
But the recurring feeling in the region is that it is often pushed aside within the Nigerian Federation. This is particularly true for minority ethnic groups. The first major attempt to address these grievances was in 1957, when the colonial administration set up the Willink’s Commission of Inquiry to investigate the fears of minorities and how to allay them. The Commission reported in 1958 that “the needs of those who live in the creeks and swamps of the Niger Delta are very different from those of the interior".
The Commission also noted that it is not easy for a government or legislature operating from the inland to concern itself or even fully understand the problems of a territory where communications are so difficult, building so expensive and education so scanty are so a country which is unlikely ever to be developed. Perhaps more importantly the commission concluded a feeling of neglect and a lack of understanding was widespread - a case has been made for special treatment of this area. This is a matter that requires special effort because (the area) is poor, backward and neglected. That conclusion is as true in the Niger Delta today as it was in 1957. Be that as it may, the immediate post-independence Government eventually responded to the Willink’s Report by setting up the Niger Delta Development Board (NDDB) in 1961.

The NDDB could not solve the problems of the Niger Delta enunciated in the Willink’s Report.


Nigeria currently has twelve river basin development authorities, their creation commenced when the federal government passed the River Basins Development Authorities Decree nos 32 and 33 of 14th August 1973 to give legal backing to the establishment of the Chad and Sokoto - Rima river basins development authorities.
Subsequently, the river basins development authorities decree no 25 of 15th June 1976 and the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority Decree no 37 of 3rd August 1976 was also promulgated.
These decrees created 11 River Basin Authorities. In 1994, government approved the division of Niger Basin Development Authority into Upper and Lower Niger Basin Development Authority, thus bringing the number of river basin authorities to 12.


REFERENCES
Commission of The European Community: Framework Contract EuropeAid/119860 /C/S/V multi
Lot no 2 COWI A/S Contract 2006/126409
E.O. Longe, D.O. Omole, I.K. Adewumi and A.S. Ogbiye: WATER RESOURCES USE, ABUSE AND REGULATIONS IN NIGERIA in Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa (Volume 12, No.2, 2010)