| Abstract: | The Niger Delta Development Board (NDDB) planning exercise, initiated in 1961, was conceived and operated within a purely regional context. The Board's area of operation was defined as Yenagoa and Degema Provinces, the Ogoni Division of Port Harcourt Province, and Western Ijaw Division of Delta Province (Nigeria). The present article analyses the operation of the NDDB and assesses the extent to which the Board generated development in the Niger Delta. Perhaps the Board's greatest achievement was its provision of wide-ranging planning information, including a general hydrological survey and various soil surveys. However, in terms of direct impact on development in the area, the Board was a failure. It was ineffective as an extension service, there being little or no direct interaction between the Board and the people being planned for. At the same time, it lacked controlling powers at all stages of the planning process, being dependent on the various regional governments for the implementation of its recommendations. Bibliogr., notes. |
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