…Disbands governing board, Interim management to stay

By Emma Amaize, Regional Editor, Niger Delta

ON Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari, tumbled numerous calculations by leaders, political heavyweights, groups and ex-agitators concerning the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, and by extension Niger Delta, with his executive imprimatur.

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For those that believed and promoted the propaganda that Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio acted on his own volition on NDDC, in the past few months, his endorsement, of the Interim Management Committee, IMC of the Commission and reconstitution of the governing Board, was a shocker.

The Thursday knock has sent many interest groups on the NDDC affair back to the drawing board, as they never anticipated Buhari’s reaction the manner it came.

Despite the President’s fresh directive on reconstitution of the governing board, the Vanguard for Transparent Leadership and Democracy, VATLAD, led by Mr. Emmanuel Igbini insisted on the inauguration of the governing board, headed by former governor of Edo state, Dr. Pius Odubu, which the Senate had screened and confirmed the membership.

However, reading between the lines in the past few weeks, it was evident that Akpabio could not have inaugurated an interim management committee for NDDC without the approval of the President, but many chose to believe otherwise.

Quite a number saw the refusal to inaugurate the governing board especially as the Senate disowned the IMC, as unbecoming of the Presidency.

Two agitating groups, Reformed Niger Delta Avengers, RNDA, and 21st Century Youths of Niger Delta and Agitators with Conscience, which never saw eye to eye in the past, joined forces in the demand for the sacking of IMC.

In fact, 21st Century Youths led about 10 other groups to lay siege, early December, to the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, calling for inauguration of the Odubu-led governing board and disbanding of IMC. They later gave President Buhari two-week notice to do the needful or face the wrath of Niger Delta agitators. However, when Buhari acted, it was to the disquiet of the agitators and those that did not read his body language.

He not only approved the reconstitution of the governing board of NDDC, which Senator Akpabio and some privileged few had implied before the formal announcement, he directed that the IMC should remain and supervise the forensic audit ordered by him.

“The Interim Management Team of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) will be in place till the forensic audit is completed. I have given approval for the re-composition and inauguration of the Commission’s Board after the forensic audit is completed. Supervision of the NDDC shall remain under the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs,” he said in a statement.

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National president, Vanguard for Transparent Leadership and Democracy, VATLAD, Mr. Emmanuel Igbini, in a statement, said, “We woke up to the rude shock of a press statement issued by Mr Femi Adesina to the effect that President Buhari has decided to recompose the Board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).”

He noted that “the board was carefully nominated by President Buhari and only recently duly screened and confirmed by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in line with section 2(2a) of the NDDC Act, 2000, as amended”

According to him, “Having carefully read and analyzed the statement, we are further shocked that on a serious matter such as this, which tends to portray President Buhari as deliberately undermining and disregarding the decision of the Senate, Mr Adesina did not deem it very important to explain the reason President Buhari allegedly took this decision.”

“This is very sad, highly regrettable and strongly condemned, particularly given the fact that disregarding and undermining any decision constitutionally taken by the Senate of Nigeria amounts to gross misconduct and a constitutional ground for impeachment of a Nigerian President as stipulated by section 143 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as amended.

“This vague statement that gives room for various conflicting interpretations by Nigerians and capable of creating more crises in the oil producing communities of Nigeria, particularly in the major oil producing states of the South-South region, ought not to be issued, few hours after President Trump was impeached by US House of Representatives. Recall that US Congress impeached Trump for simply disregarding the laws of US (abuse of office) and obstruction to constitutional duties of US Congress.

“This statement by Mr Adesina is clearly aimed at misleading and misdirecting President Buhari to causing more problems than he intends to solve. As it stands now, Nigerians do not know exactly the reason for this reported decision by President Buhari, if indeed he did. We are very careful not to engage in speculations but if it is based on the argument that Delta and Edo states ought not to produce chairman and managing director of NDDC, then, they got it all wrong.

“Moreover, it will cause Nigerians to question among others, the justification of the recent appointments of no fewer than 10 Commissioners of Police from North West Zone and four from Katsina State, while other states have none.

“For decades now, we know President Buhari as a patriotic Nigerian leader committed to ensuring peace, equity, justice and proportional development of the oil producing states of Nigeria.

“As a Minister of Petroleum Resources, he was so resolute on Nigerianisation of the rich oil sector of Nigeria to protect Nigerians and empower them and the oil producing communities to benefit more from our oil resources.

“As a Military Head of State, he carefully appointed an incorruptible and very patriotic son of the Niger Delta (late Prof. Tam David-West) as Minister for Petroleum Resources. During his tenure, the Niger Delta Region witnessed economic and social economic progress and prosperity unlike the sad situation we find ourselves today.

“We have no doubt that his decision to direct a holistic forensic auditing of the NDDC is also in line with his commitment to peace, progress and development of the Niger Delta region.

“We are, therefore, not surprised that the same unpatriotic politicians and Nigerians, who looted OMPADEC, NDDC and Ministry of Niger Delta Region are determined to obstruct President Buhari by embarking on misleading him in this matter,” he said.

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Insists on inauguration of NDDC board

His words, “We therefore submit that President Buhari should simply inaugurate the Board already confirmed by the Senate and ensure strict monitoring of their activities and management of funds released to it.”

“May we state for the record that the NDDC Act never allowed any appointments to management of the Commission without the screening and confirmation of the Senate. We wish to remind Nigerians that this is the point the Senate and House of Representatives under the leadership of Senator Okadigbo and Ghali Na Abba held so strongly that led to their decision to override ex President Olusegun Obasanjo, who wanted a situation where appointments of persons to head the NDDC do not need the approval of the Senate. This fact also settles the illegality of any Interim Management for NDDC.

“We are, therefore, strongly advising that President Buhari ignores this statement and such advice and to proceed to inaugurate the Board confirmed by the Senate. The excuse to allow for completion of forensic auditing before Board is inaugurated is baseless and only meant to mislead him,” he said.

Buhari a serial violator of rule of law – Eric Omare

Activist and lawyer, Mr. Eric Omare, who also leads a corresponding Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, said he was not shocked at President Muhammadu Buhari’s endorsement of IMC, saying, “He (Buhari) is a serial violator of the rule of law and known for his disrespect for other arms of government.”

“I repeat my earlier position that the NDDC Interim Management Committee is illegal and it remains so irrespective of President Buhari’s latest directive. President Buhari’s endorsement of the IMC in the present circumstances further reinforces his disrespect for the rule of law for which his government is known for,” he added.

On the reconstitution of the board, he retorted, “I think President Buhari’s administration has scored another goal in absurdity and illegality because I have not seen a situation such as this where a board that was nominated by Mr. President and confirmed by the Senate is technically dissolved and to be reconstituted without inauguration. What this shows is President Buhari’s disrespect for the Legislature and the Nigerian people, especially taking into account the fact that he did not even offer any reason for the technical dissolution.

“Does he expect or will the Nigerian Senate confirm another set of nominees by President Buhari into the NDDC Board when he disregarded the earlier ones he nominated and confirmed by the Senate? Will the Nigerian Senate now attend to the budget of the NDDC with the IMC in charge? Or as usual with the Buhari administration, will the NDDC operate without a budget and board in flagrant violation of the NDDC Act?

“I see the IMC being in charge of the NDDC for years without a board in violation of the NDDC Act. This is what they wanted from the beginning. These are the crucial issues going forward and it is the biggest test of the independence of the Dr. Ahmed Lawal- led National Assembly. Nigerians would be interested to see if the members of the National Assembly, especially the Senate are stooges to President Buhari or they are an independent arm of government that can hold on to its earlier position not to have anything to do with the illegal contraption call IMC.

“Finally on the IMC overseeing the forensic audit, this clearly shows that President Buhari is not serious with the forensic audit because a forensic audit supervised by an IMC directly supervised by Chief Godswill Akpabio, an interested party, cannot be independent and do a credible job.

“The IYC has no confidence in the forensic audit that would be supervised by the IMC. If President Buhari is serious, he ought to supervise the forensic audit. Above all, the wider implication of all that is happening is that President Buhari has not demonstrated required sincerity of purpose to tackle the issue of Niger Delta development.

“It is unfortunate that the Buhari administration is playing politics with the development of the Niger Delta which has been the trademark of this administration since it took over in 2015. This is why not even a kilometer has been added to the East West Road since 2015 till date,” he said.

Sen. Godswill Akpabio, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs

IYC backs Buhari

However, national president of Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Pereotubo Oweilaemi, in a statement, Thursday, said that President Muhamadu Buhari’s disbandment of the governing Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has vindicated its stand that they wrongfully constituted the board. Expressing gratitude to President Buhari for “graciously looking into the concerns of Niger Delta people in terminating the NDDC allegedly constituted by him,” he said, “there was no way that Board would stand the test of time given the litany of cases in courts contesting the legality of its composition. In fact, the Board was illegally constituted because the enabling Act was not complied with. IYC and those agitating for the right thing to be done are vindicated. President Buhari should follow the law stricto sensu when reconstituting the Management Board.

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“He should not allow politicians to mislead him into doing their fraudulent bidding. The Interim Management Board, no doubt is the rightful body constituted as it stands now. President Buhari has just done what is fair and just to the Niger Delta people, especially those agitating that the law should be obeyed,” he said.

Buhari in order – CHURAC

On the other hand, national president, Centre for Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Crusade, CHURAC, Cleric Alaowei, told Saturday Vanguard that “The timely decision by President Muhammadu Buhari to terminate his hitherto illegally constituted Management Board of the NDDC is a victory for the public interest litigators. CHURAC and other well-meaning Nigerians actually challenged the legality of the President to appoint Chairman of the Board from Edo State without following the rotational circle as provided by the NDDC Establishment Act, 2000.”

“While we are not trying to preempt the courts of their findings, we are happy that Mr President has looked into the concerns of the Niger Delta people, especially as they relate to following due processes of the laws. We make bold to say that the now-disbanded board was illegally constituted by the President. The decision, therefore, to lay it off is a right step in the right direction.

“CHURAC is in support of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) since that is within the purview of Mr. President in the absence of a substantive board. The tripartite decisions of the presidency to disband the illegally constituted management board, set up IMC and empanel forensic auditors to audit the Commission from 2001 to date are very commendable.

“CHURAC is in agreement with public opinions that the NDDC is swimming in a humongous corruption. Any step taken to weed the Commission of the unchecked corruption is a right step every right thinking individual should applaud. The trillions of naira the Commission has allegedly spent on projects in the region since its establishment in 2001 did not correspond with what is on ground.

“The Commission was not just poorly managed by successive management teams; politicians have turned it into a looting spree to pilfer away our common patrimony. The forensic auditors should be very meticulous. They should leave no stone unturned. CHURAC will give all necessary support to the government and the forensic auditors to ensure that we have a sanitized Commission.

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“The corruption in NDDC is now a consortium, while the Niger Delta region is littered with abandoned projects with some already paid in full contract sum without execution. Powerful politicians connected to the Commission protect some of these contractors and so many contracts executed by unregistered companies, yet nothing happens to them because corruption is ruling the agency.

“The IMC should not just pay contractors coming for payments because they are close to the powers that be. They should supervise every project to ascertain its due completion before making payments. That one area bred corruption in the Commission; they awarded contracts to cronies, lackeys they paid full contract sum without actual execution.

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“CHURAC will do everything within its power to ensure that the forensic audit is made public for Nigerians to see what is happening in the Commission. President Buhari will have his name scrolled in the golden plate of history if he exposed the dare devil corruption controlling the NDDC through this forensic audit,” Alawoei stated.

Vanguard