The Niger Delta- NOI Polls set unmask the issues. Source: The Vanguard newspaper

The NOI Polls, in association with the Gallup Polls USA, will, this Friday, unveil its annual national survey entitled: “The 2009 Niger Delta Survey; Unmasking A Lingering Crisis.”

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos yesterday, Chief Executive Officer, NOI Polls, Mr. Ndubisi Anyanwu, said his firm aims to support the establishment of a democratic culture and contribute to effective policy formulation and implementation in Nigeria, “by providing a platform for communicating the views and opinions of social and economic groups that are ordinarily excluded from public debates.”

Anyanwu noted that “the objective of the Niger Delta Survey is to serve as one of NOI Polls strategic products designed to stimulate public debate among Nigerians, while strengthening the dialogue between public sector officials, private corporations, and individual stakeholders in the oil and gas sector.

It is a landmark survey that covers social, economic, political, ecological, and security issues in the region. It aims to address the information gap on the Niger Delta by providing robust statistical data on the views and opinions of the region’s inhabitants with respect to the pressing issues that affect their daily lives.

Such a comprehensive pan-regional survey is the first of its kind in Nigeria, and NOI Polls will be conducting a survey of the Niger Delta every year.

“The pioneer Niger Delta Survey provides information on several critical areas, including the economy and society, political administration, corporate interests and oil-producing communities in the region, violence and security, and environmental pollution.

It is comprised of four sections, namely:
Government and the Niger Delta Crisis;
Oil Companies and Local Communities;
Security, Violence and Protests and;
Jobs and the Environment.”

The NOI/Gallup Polls research will be officially presented at a one-day seminar on the Niger Delta Survey, this Friday at the Rock View Hotel in Abuja, to select stakeholders from government.

A Visionary African Leader- Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

NEW YORK, April 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Rockefeller Foundation today announced the appointment to its Board of Trustees of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a Managing Director of the World Bank and former Nigerian Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs.

"Ngozi is an exceptional leader with an outstanding record of achievement in the field of poverty alleviation and economic reforms in Africa," said James F. Orr, III, the Board's chairman. "We have continued to add Trustees to the Board who can bring specific, diverse skills, experiences and perspectives that meet the needs of the Foundation as it advances its mission for the 21st century. The Board will benefit enormously from Ngozi's important insight into the major issues confronting today's globalized world."

"Ngozi has outstanding breadth and depth of experience and I will cherish her stewardship and counsel," said Judith Rodin, president of the Rockefeller Foundation. "As we support a new generation of innovative solutions shaped by and for the people of developing countries, Ngozi's unique insight will prove immeasurably valuable."

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, 54, served from 2003 until 2006 as Nigeria's Minister of Finance, and earned international acclaim for her work on economic reform, fiscal transparency and financial stability During 2006, she also served as Minister for Foreign Affairs and was the first woman in Nigeria to hold the two posts. Previously, she worked for 21 years at the World Bank as a development economist, rising to the post of Vice President and Corporate Secretary.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala graduated from Harvard and received a Ph.D. in Regional Economics and Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has received numerous awards and honorary degrees for her work and serves on the boards of the ONE Campaign, the World Resources Institute, the Nelson Mandela Institution, Friends of the Global Fund of Africa, and the African Institute of Science and Technology, among others.

The Rockefeller Foundation fosters innovative solutions to many of the world's most intractable challenges, affirming its mission, since 1913, to "promote the well-being" of humanity. Today, the Rockefeller Foundation works to ensure that more people can tap into globalization's benefits while strengthening resilience to its risks. 

Foundation initiatives include efforts to mobilize an agricultural revolution in sub-Saharan Africa, build new markets for Impact Investing, support strategies and services that strengthen economic security for American workers, inform more equitable, sustainable transportation policies in the United States, help communities cope with the impacts of imminent and worsening climate change, and assure access to affordable and high-quality health systems in developing countries. For more information, visit www.rockfound.org.

SOURCE The Rockefeller Foundation