BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

PORT HARCOURT: THE recent dissolution of the third board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC by President Goodluck Jonathan did not come to many as a surprise. This probably was because the board since it came into existence on August 5th 2009 was engulfed in all kinds of conflict, ranging from personality clash among most of its members, to managerial issues.

In the judgement of many, members of the board spent more time fighting themselves than they gave to issues of development of the region. Close observers of events in the Commission traced more of the problems and controversies that trailed the board to some of the alleged actions of the former Managing Director, Chibuzor Ugwoha; whom they said he was always jumping from one controversy to the other.

They recalled that barely three months after he came on board as Managing Director of the Commission; he was enmeshed in a two hundred million naira controversy, reportedly used to renovate his office. The issue lingered for some time, pitching his office against that of a former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Air Force, Halims Agoda.

President Jonathan

The dust generated by the 200 million had hardly settled when the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission; ICPC, summoned the Managing Director, the Executive Director Finance and Administration, Power Aginighan; and Executive Director Project, Arch Esoetek Etteh to appear before it over alleged unilateral award of contracts worth N61 billion naira by the Managing Director.

This issue was still on when another petition came up that the Managing Director allegedly transferred the Commission’s fund from Union Bank to First bank without input from the board. Accusations and counter accusations lingered on this issue for several months until President Goodluck Jonathan, acting on the findings and recommendations of the Steve Orosanya Presidential Committee on NDDC dissolved the board.

Some observers of events in the Commission largely blamed aides of the MD for some of the controversies he found himself in. Unconfirmed reports also alleged that some aides of some of the ogas in the commission were involved in sale of contracts.

Meantime, mixed reactions have continued to trail the dissolution of the board. While some hailed the action of the President, there are those who saw it as a violation of the constitution. A statement issued by activists in the Niger Delta under the aegis of Campaign for Peace and Development in the region said the President should have removed the bad eggs in the board rather than the outright dissolution.

Their statement signed by Comrades Philip Agadema and Charles Effiong recalled that former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Musa Yar Adua in the face of similar challenges only acted on the provisions of the NDDC act to deal with the situation.

“We have had similar situations in the past and former Presidents relied on the only legal instrument or authority in the NDDC to act. The President can only act on the NDDC establishment act 2000 which under section 5, sub sections 3 empowers the President to remove any member of the governing board for misconduct.

It was in exercise of this power that President Obasanjo removed Engr Godwin Omene and Engr Udo Nbossoh, Executive Director Project under Omene and replaced them from the state that produced them.

“Similarly, late President Musa Yar Adua exercised the powers of the President under the same provision of the act and removed the Chairman of the second governing board, Ambassador Sam Edem in 2008 and appointed the then Akwa Ibom state representative, Chief Basil Dan Abia as acting Chairman to complete the tenure of the board.”

The group in its statement further advised against constitution of an interim committee for the Commission, noting that such was strange to the NDDC.

EEto come back. According to them, re-appointing them would make it clear to all that not all members of the dissolved board were indicted by the panel.

At the moment, the race for the plum job of the managing director of the Commission has intensified in Rivers state. Already Chibudum Nwuche, Austin Opara, Tonye Cole and Dumo Lulu Briggs, were among names being taunted as possible nominees to take over as MD from Rivers state.