- Niger Delta Stakeholders Urge Tinubu to fire Lokpobiri for inappropriate actions, triggering Crisis in N/Delta
By Abiola Olawale
Things seem to be falling apart in the Nigerian Content Development Board (NCDMB) as the agency has been engulfed in needless friction at the leadership level.
This is as the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, and the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr Felix Ogbe, appear to be at serious loggerheads over matters regarding staff redeployment to enhance organizational efficiency for optimum performance, and related issues.
The Minister in a letter he signed chided Ogbe, for allegedly stepping overboard to approve redeployment of internal staff within the remit of his powers as CEO of the NCDMB. Many insiders are shocked that Lokpobri wants to milk the agency for political reasons ahead of purportedly trying to jump ship in 2027 to pursue his governorship ambition on the platform of any party other than APC.
Said an insider: “The Executive Secretary is doing the right, professional thing but Lokpobri because of his political ambition in Bayelsa State in 2027 wants to get all his cronies to get contracts at the Board to help advance his political goal! You know Sylva has seized the APC structure in Bayelsa State so Lokpobri is looking at other parties…But the Executive Secretary wants things done with due process and in line with the Law…So they keep clashing.”
However, Lokpobri who also functions as the Chairman of the NCDMB, alleged that Ogbe is flouting the rules of the board. According to him, no part of the NCDMB Act empowers the executive secretary to redeploy or appoint management staff.
Lokpobiri further declared that those impacted by the executive secretary’s recent decision on redeploy lmeny and appointmeny should revert to status quo.
The letter reads in part: “The personnel announcement signed by the Executive Secretary (ES) NCDMB dated 4th March 2024 with Ref No. NCDMB/ES/1/001/03/24 redeploying some management staff of the board refers.
“It has become imperative to empathically state that the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Content Act 2010 does not empower the executive secretary to redeploy or appoint management staff.
“Section 8 (2) (b) of the Act states ‘that the Executive Secretary is responsible to the Council for the execution of the policies and the administration of the daily affairs of the board.
“The ES therefore does not have the power to redeploy, appoint or employ management staff. Accordingly, the executive secretary does not have the authority to overturn deployments/redeployments made by the minister and the chairman governing council of the board.
“Furthermore, Section 101 of the Act states that: ‘The minister shall make regulations generally for the purpose of carrying out or giving effect to the provisions of the Act.
“ The executive secretary is strongly advised not to usurp the powers of the governing council on any subject matter. In the light of the above, the redeployments announced by the ES to all staff on March 4, 2024 is hereby overturned.
“Consequently, affected staff should remain in their places of assignment as the status quo remains. Please be guided,” the letter personally signed by the minister stated.
A senior Lawyer said Lokpobri should also realize that he is a minister of State and NOT the Minister of Petroleum Resources. “The Minister referred to in this Act is the Substantive Minister as provided for in our Laws! Our Minister is President Tinubu, who also doubles as the Minister as the Minister of Petroleum Resources…So Substantive matters in law must go to him for approval. And I matters of day to day administration, I think the CEO of the agency can initiate and take decisions for proper functioning of the NCDMB.”
Reacting to the development, a group under the auspices of the Movement of the Survival of Niger Delta has knocked the Minister for interfering with the managerial actions of NCDMB’s Executive Secretary, thereby undermining the agenda of development and peace in the Niger Delta region.
The group also appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to investigate the activities of the Lokpobiri, in the NCDMB.
According to the group, the minister is ignorant of the Renewed Hope agenda of Tinubu for the Niger Delta region. The group said Lokpobiri has been interfering with the activities of NCDMB, thereby stalling the development of the region.
The group made this disclosure in a statement signed by its Chairman, Mr Ogon Peterside, and sighted by the New Diplomat.
The stakeholders particularly accused Lokpobiri of desperately interfering in the day-to-day running of the affairs of the agency in flagrant breach of the Act establishing the board.
The group also claimed that since the appointment of Lokpobiri allegations of corruption, official misconduct, and highwire political interest have been rocking the board.
They also threatened to release all the details of the alleged dirty job the Minister has been doing if the matter is not quickly resolved.
The New Diplomat reports that the governing council of the NCDMB was inaugurated recently.This came after President Bola Tinubu on December 7, 2023, had announced that the board members.
The NCDMB was established by the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act which came into effect on April 22, 2010.
The NOGIC JQS was created in line with section 55 of the NOGIC Act which states that the Board shall establish, maintain, and operate a joint qualification system (JQS) in consultation with industry stakeholders which shall be administered by provisions set out in the regulations to be made by the Minister by the provisions of this Act.
