NDDC roads strengthen Niger Delta economy, social ties — Tokpo

By Emem Idio, Yenagoa 

The All Progressives Congress ,APC, candidate for Southern Ijaw Constituency 1 in the forthcoming Bayelsa State House of Assembly election, Dr Coronation Tokpo, has said .that the Niger Delta Development Commission’s ,NDDC, investment in internal roads is improving economic activities, access to social services and security in communities across the oil-producing region

Tokpo, a political scientist, development advocate and lecturer in the Department of Political Science, Federal University Otuoke, Bayelsa State, made the assessment during a dialogue with the 51 FOR 51: The Ogbuku Impact Series Team led by Okaniba Damson, which focused on “Concrete Pathways, Connected Communities: Transforming the Niger Delta’s Internal Road Network.”

According to him, the importance of internal roads in the Niger Delta extends beyond transportation because the region’s peculiar terrain and dispersed settlements make community-level connectivity critical to economic and social activities.

He said while major highways were necessary for linking towns and states, internal roads determined how easily residents could reach markets, schools, workplaces, health facilities and other essential destinations within their communities.

Tokpo said the improvement of such routes could reduce the difficulty and cost of moving agricultural produce and other goods, particularly in communities where residents depend largely on farming, fishing, petty trading, transportation and small businesses.

“Internal roads are pathways of inclusion because they determine how easily people participate in economic and social activities within their communities,” he said, adding that the benefits of road infrastructure should be assessed by what it enables residents to do after completion.

He also identified improved accessibility as an important component of community security, noting that poor roads could hinder the movement of security personnel and emergency responders. Better internal routes, he said, could facilitate patrols, emergency interventions and movement between different sections of communities.

The lecturer commended the NDDC management led by its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, for what he described as greater attention to projects with direct community impact. He said the Commission’s interventions had helped to extend infrastructure development beyond major highways to residential areas and smaller communities.

He cited the four-kilometre Yenagoa Internal Road in the Etegwe-Agudama-Epie axis as an example, saying the road, which links Dogood Extension to White Church Road, had opened up an area previously characterised by swampy terrain and difficult access.

Tokpo also mentioned the 1.2-kilometre Popo Jonah/16 Brigade internal road network in Yenagoa and the 1.39-kilometre Igbogene-Polaku rigid-pavement road, arguing that the value of an infrastructure project should not be determined solely by its length.

He said relatively short roads could have significant economic and social effects where they connected residential areas with markets, institutions, major roads and other strategic locations.

The Oruma rigid-pavement road in Ogbia Local Government Area, according to him, provides another example of the strategic value of local road infrastructure. The project serves as a bypass connecting communities in Bayelsa and Rivers states and complements the 23.5-kilometre Otuasega-Obedum-Emelego Road and bridges.

Tokpo said the Amassoma-Otuan road connection in Southern Ijaw also demonstrated the importance of improving access to communities outside major urban centres. Federal project records identify the Amassoma-Otuan Road as a 2.1-kilometre route with drainage, while the NDDC has undertaken other infrastructure projects in Amassoma, including an internal road at Niger Delta University.

He recalled that the NDDC commissioned a 1.5-kilometre internal road at Niger Delta University, Amassoma, in 2023, alongside other interventions in the area. He said the combination of road infrastructure, lighting and institutional development could improve the functionality of the university environment and the surrounding community.

Speaking from his experience as a lecturer at Federal University Otuoke, Tokpo said road infrastructure was also critical to the effectiveness of tertiary institutions, as students, academics, workers and visitors required reliable access to educational facilities.

He further cited the reconstructed Oyigbo Road Network in Rivers State, commissioned by the NDDC in February 2025, as evidence of the need to address road infrastructure at urban and community levels across the Niger Delta.

Tokpo said the NDDC’s interventions should be assessed as components of a wider regional infrastructure network, with highways linking regions, bridges overcoming waterways and internal roads providing access to communities. 

He urged stakeholders to pay greater attention to maintenance and the long-term functionality of completed projects, stressing that the real measure of infrastructure was its sustained effect on mobility, commerce, security and access to essential services.

He also commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for supporting interventions aimed at extending infrastructure development to communities in the Niger Delta through the NDDC. Tokpo said public infrastructure could strengthen citizens’ confidence in governance when its benefits were directly visible and measurable in their communities.

The political scientist said the broader objective should be to ensure that development did not end at major highways but extended into neighbourhoods where citizens live and conduct their daily economic and social activities. 

He maintained that well-connected communities would have better access to markets, education, healthcare, employment opportunities and government services, making internal roads an important component of the region’s long-term development strategy.