Sunday Okobi
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has tasked contractors and consultants handling its projects with not allowing disputes to fester, saying early identification and resolution of conflicts are critical to preventing delays, rising costs, and project abandonment across the Niger Delta region.
The Commission said disagreements over payments, project variations, designs, timelines, quality of work, measurements, access to sites and relations with host communities must be addressed before they escalate into crises capable of stalling development projects.
The Executive Director, Corporate Services, NDDC, Hon. Ifedayo Abegunde, gave the charge in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during a three-day sensitisation programme on Conflict Sensitivity and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) for NDDC contractors and consultants.
The programme was tagged: ‘Enhancing Capacity for Alternative Dispute Resolution: Application in Project Execution for Sustainable Development in Niger Delta’.
Abegunde, who represented the NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, noted that disagreements could arise during project implementation over payment, variations, designs, timelines, quality of work, measurements, access to project sites, contractual obligations and relationships with host communities.
He urged contractors and consultants to ensure that such issues were identified and professionally managed before they became major disputes capable of stalling projects.
According to him, “Every NDDC project goes beyond the contractual relationship between the Commission and its contractors, as communities depend on roads, bridges, schools, health facilities and other interventions for improved livelihoods.”
He said delays caused by unresolved disputes could, therefore, impose costs not only on contractors and the Commission but also on communities awaiting development projects.
Abegunde said such consequences could include delayed completion, increased project costs, strained relationships with contractors and communities, litigation and claims, as well as loss of valuable time.
He said: “We want our contractors and consultants to understand that you are not merely participants in project execution; you are also critical first responders in conflict management.”
The Executive Director added that strengthening the ADR capacity of contractors and consultants would ultimately improve project delivery across the Niger Delta.
Also speaking, the Director, Alternative Dispute Resolution Department, Godwin Ayewumi Ogedegbe, said the programme was organised against the backdrop of the region’s pursuit of sustainable development.
Ogedegbe observed that the Niger Delta’s social, economic and environmental complexities could give rise to tensions and disputes which, if left unmanaged, could undermine projects designed to transform the region.
He said conflict sensitivity required development actors to understand the dynamics of host communities and ensure that interventions did not inadvertently deepen existing divisions.
According to him, ADR provides structured and peaceful mechanisms for resolving disputes through dialogue, fairness and mutual respect rather than confrontation and litigation.
Ogedegbe said the ability of contractors and consultants to integrate conflict-sensitive approaches and ADR frameworks into project execution would be critical to the success of individual projects and the sustainability of development interventions across the Niger Delta.
In his keynote presentation titled ‘Conflict Sensitivity and ADR Application in Project Execution for Sustainable Development in Niger Delta’, Prof. Isaacs Albert of the Institute of Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ibadan, said unmanaged conflicts increase costs, disrupt access, weaken quality, and erode the legitimacy of development projects.