Niger Delta Renaissance Coalition (NDRC) has said that it is in agreement with the demands of the Governors of the South-South States for the immediate inauguration of the Governing Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to run the agency in line with the NDDC Act.
In a statement made available to journalists by its national chairman, Comrade Damian Nwikinaka, the group stated that the governors spoke their mind.
He noted that the group is pleased that the Governors of the Niger Delta states have now spoken out against the convoluted manipulations of the NDDC by the Niger Delta Minister Chief Godswill Akpabio, who has employed every excuse to run the NDDC like his personal property.
They expressed satisfaction that the meeting was attended by the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike; the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki; Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri and the Deputy Governor of Akwa-Ibom State, Mr. Moses Ekpo, who represented Governor Emmanuel Udom, and Governor Okowa.
The statement read; “We have always said that since the imposition of illegal interim managements by Akpabio in October 2019, fraud, financial recklessness and mismanagement have become the order of the day, especially since the interim managements are not beholden to anyone but Akpabio.
Delta State Governor and Chairman of the South-South Governors Forum, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, stated, the running of the NDDC in over a year by an Interim Caretaker Committee, and now, an interim administrator is worrisome as it does not augur well for the people of the Niger Delta as an opportunity for all States to be represented as they ought to be represented in the board of the NDDC does not exist.
“So, it means that the NDDC is actually run in such a manner that it is actually not truly beneficial to our people because there are no stakeholders input in the running of the affairs of the NDDC.”
As the Governors further stated: “We feel already short changed as a people in the Niger Delta and we believe that we do not wish to see this kind of situation continue going forward into the future, because our people feel the pains, we do not want a situation where there is an abuse of processes, neither should we have a situation where we have abuse of funds.
“We believe that it is best for both the country, for the states of the Niger Delta and for the people of the Niger Delta when the due process is followed by the reconstitution of the board and also in reconstituting the board, that the reconstituted funds should come in and have funds to spend as per the law.”
The group further stated that the current impasse at the NDDC is one that the federal government needlessly brought about through the meddlesomeness of Akpabio who wanted to have personal control of the NDDC for his own benefit.
In his desire to hijack the NDDC, the minister sold the idea of appointing an Interim Management Committee which he can control despite the nomination of a Governing Board, which was duly nominated by the president and cleared by the Senate in line with the NDDC Act.
It could be recalled that President Muhamnadu Buhari had in exercise of his constitutional powers forwarded to the Senate for confirmation, the appointment of a 16 – member board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) via a letter dated 18th October, 2019, personally signed by him.
Specifically, President Buhari in the letter sought the Senate’s confirmation for Dr Pius Odubu, former Edo State Deputy Governor as chairman of the NDDC, Chief Bernard Okumagba as Managing Director and 14 others as members of its board.
The president’s letter read: “In accordance with the provision of Section 2(2)(a) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) (Establishment) Act, 2000, I write to forward, for confirmation by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the under listed nominees for appointment into the NDDC board, to occupy the positions indicated against their names.”
President Buhari, in the letter, expressed hope that “the Senate will consider and confirm the nominees in the usual expeditious manner”.
Accordingly, the written request, which was read on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, October 22, 2019, by its President, Ahmad Lawan, was given expeditious consideration by the upper legislative chamber, which directed its Standing Committee on Niger Delta, to screen all the nominees and report back within a week.
The Senate screened and confirmed the appointments of 15 out of the 16 nominees on Tuesday, November 5, 2019, based on the report tabled before it by the Committee on Niger Delta.
South-South
