By Festus Ahon
UGHELLI—THE National Association of the Delta State Students (NADESSTU), has called on President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to as a matter of urgency, reconstitute the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC).

The NDDC board was dissolved some months ago by the Federal Government, following the expiration of the tenure of the last board.

The call is contained in a statement issued yesterday by the joint executive council of the group, which was signed by its National President, Benedict Oboidhe in Ughelli, Delta State.

According to the group, the need to reconstitute the board urgently is in the interest of the region. He urged President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to send the names of the board of directors of the commission to the National Assembly for confirmation without further delay.

The student body argued that the appointment of an acting Managing Director for the NDDC was contrary to the provisions of the act that set up the commission. It noted that the act provided that a new board be constituted within 24 hours upon the expiration of the tenure of the old board.

It read: “This provision is synonymous with that setting up of the Central Bank of Nigeria for which the presidency immediately forwarded for confirmation the name of a new governor upon the expiration of the tenure of Prof. Charles Soludo to the National Assembly for confirmation.

As such, we wonder why the presidency would treat the region with such apathy by setting up the board in acting capacity”, the group said.

“Furthermore, we refuse to agree with comments from the presidency that the over N250 billion owed to the commission is expired,” and appealed to Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to release the N250 billion to the commission.