A Niger/Delta group under the platform of Network For Grassroot Development on Monday said they are totally appalled by the delay in inaugurating the Board of the NDDC and the continuous administration of the agency by an illegal administrative structure.
Hence they are joining many well-meaning Nigerians and Organizations in the call on the Federal Government to immediately inaugurate the Board of the NDDC in line with the provisions of the NDDC Act in such a manner that gives each component member of the commission a sense of belonging and ownership of the resources accruing to the Commission.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Monday, Ukato Thomas, co-administrator of the group said they are encouraged by President Muhammadu Buhari’s desire to doing the right thing by complying with the provisions of the NDDC Act.
This he said must be the result of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice advise to Mr. President on the need to stick to the provision of the law setting up the Commission.
Thomas however wish to emphasize the fact that the leaders of the various member states of the Commission should be allowed to nominate the representatives of each member State of the Commission rather than non-indigenes of the region imposing their lackeys on the Commission.
“We note that the Commission have been bogged down by allegations of corruption and misappropriation of resources thereby impeding the development mandate of the agency.
“While we welcome the forensic audit ordered by Mr. President, we wish to warn that unless and until the Commission becomes truly independent and answerable to the President and National Assembly with proper checks and balances, the Commission will continue to wallow in the cesspool of corruption as a result of the pressures from non stakeholders.
“On the whole it is imperative to have the commission run in accordance with the law by ending the illegal regime of Sole Administratorship or Interim Management Committee.
“We call on Mr. President to waste no time but to save the Commission and it’s stakeholders from the grueling lack of proper and legal administration.”
And also,”Our attention has been drawn to a recent statement issued by a group known as Niger Delta Rescue Movement(NDRM) in which it warned that the continuous violation of the NDDC Act by administering the Commission without a validly appointed Governing board in accordance with the Act, was a recipe for failure of the All Progressives Congress(APC) in the next general elections in the South South geopolitical zone.
“As a socio-economic and political organization, we welcome the group’s concern for the enthronement of the rule of law in the administration of the NDDC, we find it unacceptable and preposterous their submissions that Edo and Ondo States are ineligible for the position of the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission board. What is more? The suggestion that such a warped submission is anchored on the provision of the NDDC Act makes their case even more ludicrous.
“For the avoidance of doubt we wish to state that the NDDC Act contemplates an administrative structure that will give all the nine member States, to wit: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers equal opportunity at the management level.
“Section 2 of the Act provides for the establishment of a governing Board of the Commission while Section 4 provide for the Chairman and members of the Governing Board of the commission with the position of Chairman rotating amongst the member states in alphabetical order.
“Of particular note and interest is Section 12(1) of the NDDC Act which provides as follows:
‘There shall be for the commission, a managing director, and two executive directors who shall be indigenes of oil producing areas [starting with the member states of the commission with the highest production quantum of oil and rotate amongst member states in the order of production].’
Note that the definition of Oil in the Act includes gas.
“Consequently, it is therefore erroneous to put forward in the public domain that the two States of Edo and Ondo are not qualified to produce the Managing Director of the NDDC.
“This, to say the least, is not only contrary to the intendment of the Law but a warped and mischievous interpretation of the law which can serve no useful purpose except to create confusion.
“We urge the authorities and all well meaning Nigerians particularly Mr. President to discountenance it in all its ramifications.
“We recognize the rights of the NDRM which we suspect is a Bayelsa based organization to agitate for the state to produce key positions in the NDDC, but it is certainly not for the position of the NDDC Managing Director for the now.
“Bayelsa State against the run of play has produced one substantive Managing Director and two Interim Managing Directors of the NDDC since it was founded in 2000.
“As Niger Deltans we must learn to live together in an atmosphere of equity and fairness or we condemn ourselves to self-immolation and then turn around to blame outsiders for our woes.
“We also need to state clearly and unequivocally that Edo State is by every indices the state that is entitled to produce the next Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission at this point in time being the fifth state in terms of Oil and Gas Production Quota among the nine member states of the commission and in the country.
“This position is not borne out of the need to agitate for the sake of agitation as some states are doing just now, but it is supported by established facts and statistics of the contributions of each state to the oil revenue of the country.
“For those who doubt this position they should do well to educate themselves with the recent statistics from the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and of course the Federal Ministry of Finance.
“Edo State is unassailably the next in line to produce who should be the Managing Director and not any other State at all.
” So while we await Mr. President to do the right thing by sticking to the Law establishing the Commission, the facts on ground and the statistics from the appropriate government agency we believe in doing so, Mr. President will treat Edo State appropriately and appoint the next Managing Director of the NDDC from the State.”
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