By Emmanuel Elebeke

The Oil & Solid Mineral Producing Area Landlords’ Association of Nigeria has written President Buhari on the inability of the region’s robust interventionist scheme – the NDDC to deliver on its mandate.

President Buhari

It said the scheme has failed due to the greed and corruption perpetuated by a powerful corrupt elite class that has completely hijacked the interventionist programme at the expense of  vulnerable local communities that bear the brunt of acute environmental impacts.

In the letter addressed to President Buhari and signed by the Association’s President/Chairman, BoT, Bishop Udo Azogu and the National Secretary/Secretary, BoT, Prof. Eyo Etim Nyong, tagged “Gradual Collapse of the Hard-Earned Peace Process in the Niger Delta Region: Issue of Mismanagment of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC”: The Association said: “We wish to alert your office that the hard-earned peace process in the Niger Delta region is collapsing progressively in the region giving rise to resumption of hostilities and all forms of criminality.

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A survey by OMPALAN indicates that the tiny but, powerful corrupt elite class that operates clandestinely in the region has completely hijacked the running of the interventionist scheme to the extent that it has been rendered moribund and cannot deliver.

He contended that the Commission is presently fraught with corruption and can only be remedied by completely overhauling the system and reverting religiously to the act establishing it especially on the issue of rotation of the high offices of Chairman, Managing Director and two Executive Directors of Project and Finance to give member states a sense of belonging and equity as provided in the NDDC Act.

Vanguard