By Soni Daniel

Abuja— Former Acting Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Mr. Bassey Dan-Abia, has dismissed petitions against his choice as the commission’s Managing Director as the handiwork of political jobbers.

Dan-Abia, whose name has been penciled down for appointment as the substantive Managing Director of NDDC by President Goodluck Jonathan, is facing opposition from some Niger Delta groups that claimed he was sacked last year from the Larry-Koinyan board that failed to perform despite huge sum of money at its disposal.

One of the groups, Niger Delta Alliance, NDA, said in a petition to President Jonathan that it would do everything possible to stall the emergence of Dan-Abia as NDDC boss, given his recent past with the commission.

However, Dan-Abia told Vanguard that his traducers were political jobbers who had no genuine case against him to warrant being dropped by the Presidency from the job.

The former Attorney-General of Akwa Ibom State noted that those that wrote the petition against him were hired thugs meant to cause tension and create fear where none existed.

Dan-Abia, who had served twice as Akwa Ibom State representative on the board of the commission, stated that he did not commit any infraction throughout his tenure and during his brief stint as the acting chairman of NDDC.

Petition petty— Abia

He said the petition against him was borne out of ignorance and pettiness, arguing that there was nothing like collective responsibility for offences said to have been committed by a board on individual members.

Abia said: “Those writing petitions against me should be bold enough to state clearly what they claim I did wrong while serving on the NDDC board or shut up forever.

“My records are very clear and I am ready to defend them at any point in time.”

A source close to the Presidency told Vanguard that the President Jonathan was favourably disposed to Dan-Abia’s nomination, which was made by Governor Godswill Akpabio, who is also the Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum.

The source said that barring some petitions against the nomination of Abia and other nominees, the President could unfold the membership of the new board any moment from now.

NDA’s petition

NDA, in a petition to President Jonathan, warned that it would resist Dan-Abia’s appointment with open protest and make it impossible for him to assume the headship of the commission given his link with the past leadership that mismanaged the agency.

The petition by its Chairman, Dr. Allen Anga and Secretary, Orok Pius, claimed that Dan-Abia had lost the locus to serve as the MD of the commission, having been earlier sent packing by the President over alleged misconduct of the former board.

The group said that while it was not opposed to Jonathan’s power to appoint people into public offices, it would nonetheless move against the appointment of persons that had nothing to offer.

NDA said: “Mr. President, we have no quarrel with your right to appoint, but we will certainly resist, in very strong terms and with all available resources, any attempt by selfish politicians who have mapped out their devious plans to take over the Niger Delta Development Commission for their selfish interest to the detriment of all of us.”