BY HENRY UMORU
ABUJA—TRADITIONAL rulers of Oil Mineral Producing Communities of Nigeria, TROMPCON, yesterday hailed President Goodluck Jonathan over his planned probe of alleged N69 billion scandal rocking the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.

The monarchs also urged President Jonathan not to  contemplate scrapping the Commission or merging it with the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs against the backdrop that such an action will be detrimental to people of the Niger Delta region, adding that there was need for the peace which has returned to be nurtured.

In a statement by TROMPCON National Chairman, Oba Lawrence Adetemi Omowole11, the Amapetu of Mahin Kingdom, said they have watched with dismay reports of impunity with which the affairs of the NDDC have been run in the almost 20 months of its existence.

According to them, ‘’it was therefore with joy and relief that TROMPCON received last Wednesday’s constitution of an Administrative Panel by the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to look into the crisis in the Commission, as well as identify areas of rifts and infractions with a view to proffering solutions that will enhance institutional potency as well as strengthen values and virtues at the Commission.

To say the least, not only has Mr. President taken the right decision in the right direction, he  has indeed, displayed his readiness to be thorough and decisive as far as the issues at the NDDC are concerned.

‘’Above all, by taking a radical departure from the past in which those accused are suspended before enquiries, President Jonathan has, by his action, given a clear indication of his readiness to let the Nigerian public have a better insight and perception of the problems bedevilling the NDDC”.

This attests to a new and commendable presidential direction in the gospel of rule of law and due process.

‘’Even though we are not oblivious of the fact that most sitting government officials under such scrutiny often take advantage of the vulnerability of some Nigerians to the temptation of material and pecuniary gains to subvert justice while on such critical national assignments, our consolation lies in the person of the Chairman of the panel, Mr. Steve Orosanye as well as other well meaning Nigerians in the Panel whose individual integrities have remained enviable.