GASPRO International Journal of Eminent Scholars

ABSTRACT The essence of this research is to assess the impact of Niger-Delta Development Commission on rural communications in Akwa Ibom State, which is one of the principal areas known for oil production in Nigeria. The research design adopted for this study is a survey design. The study population comprised of adult male and females from the age of 25 years and above residing in the various rural communities in Akwa Ibom State who are beneficiaries of NDDC programmes, officials of NDDC and opinion leaders in the area. The sample for the study made up to five hundred (500) respondents randomly selected from ten (10) local government areas mostly benefiting from NDDC activities. A community was randomly selected from each local government area using simple random sampling and cluster sampling techniques. The main instrument used for data collection was the questionnaire developed by the researcher. Before using the instrument, the items developed was submitted to experts for screening and face validation. Those found relevant were retained while the irrelevant items were dropped. To ensure that the instrument measures consistently with what is purported to measure, a pilot study was carried out in the population area, and a Test retest method of reliability was done. To test the hypotheses of the study, chi-square (X2) statistical technique was employed. The study concludes that the achievements of NDDC within such a short period of time (barely four years) has changed the people’s perception of government projects of empty promises to that of a promise fulfilled (a dream come true). It is as a result of this fulfillment of a dream come true that the respondents of the study caused the significance of the hypothesis. It was recommended that, the commission should as much as possible get the grassroots people fully involved in the execution processes of projects. Key Words: Niger-Delta Development Commission, Poverty Alleviation