… Make BRACED Commission Niger Delta’s equivalent of Odua Investment, NNDC
Governments and the people of the Niger Delta should strengthen regional development agency, BRACED Commission, to drive development and curb growing unemployment and poverty figures in the region.
A National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report placed the average unemployment rate for the Niger Delta region in 2023 at 6.56%, higher than the national figure of 5.4% in the same year.
Experts point out that the Niger Delta contributes about 80% of Nigeria’s revenue and 74% of its export earnings. “Despite this wealth, the Niger Delta remains one of the poorest and most underdeveloped regions in Nigeria, with about 70% of its population living below the poverty line.”
Etim Frank, associate professor of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Uyo, on June 20, 2025 in a follow up to his article, ‘Making A Case for the BRACED Commission as A Development Agency for the South South Zone of Nigeria: The Opportunity Cost,’ published in the International Journal of Social Sciences, said the BRACED Commission can change the development narrative in the Niger Delta.
Frank, who spoke to BusinessDay from Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, urged governments and the people of the South South to “build BRACED on the shortcomings of NDDC and other intervention agencies which we do not have control over,” arguing that “with BRACED, we shall have control over the development processes.”
Frank, who said earlier intervention agencies, such as OMPADEC, and now NDDC, had not lived up to development expectations in the region, added that “BRACED will be our equivalent of Odua Investment for the West and NNDC for the North Through BRACED, we can drive development in the Niger Delta as Odua Investment in the West and NNDC in Northern Nigeria.”
He pointed out that crude oil, which the region and nation are heavily reliant on, is an exhaustible asset. He stressed that “the oil will finish one day,” citing the case of Oloibiri in Bayelsa State, where Nigeria first discovered oil in commercial quantity, “but is today a museum.”
“Crude oil is an expendable asset and would be exhausted someday. After which the future of the zone would be the worst for it, as exemplified by Oloibiri town in Bayelsa State, where Nigeria obtained crude oil since 1958, which is now desolate as the oil has dried up.
“It is imperative for the Niger Delta to drive development of the region through the BRACED Commission now that the resources are flowing and thereby obtain sustainable development in the zone.”
Frank said the governance structure of BRACED affords the people of the region full control of the commission, which can be deployed to effective development, while canvassing for the allocation of funds by the member states, which would be invested in various development sectors of the economy of the zones.
He said, “This investment would range from education, shipping. refinery. fishing and many others. These investments are expected to create the future for sustainable development for the citizens of the zone with a high standard of living with or without crude oil. The opportunity is now when the resources are e available, while the opportunity cost is to do nothing.
BRACED is an acronym derived from the first letter of the six states of the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, also known as the Niger Delta states. They are Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta.
These states, except Edo and Delta, initially belonged to the defunct Eastern region, while Edo and Delta were part of the former Western region.
Frank added that, “They, therefore, share the same political experiences of being minorities and attendant discriminations in both regions. Their experiences include difficult terrain, which are mostly marshy and swampy (less land for cultivation), among others.”
