*Activists Urge N’ Assembly To Sanction NDDC’s IMC
The Niger Delta Rights Advocates (NDRA) has advised the National Assembly against jettisoning its report on the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), on the altar of executive-legislative cooperation.
While speaking in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, NDRA spokesman Darlington Nwauju appealed to Senate President, Dr Ahmed Lawan “to ensure the implementation of recommendations of the Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi ad-hoc committee, which probed the IMC.”
The activists under the auspices of NDRA recalled that the National Assembly committee, had among other things,” recommended the dissolution of the IMC and the refund of N4.925billion extra-budgetary expenditure made by the Prof. Keme Pondei-led IMC.”
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Nwauju said amidst the current ENDSARS Protests, activists are “mobilising to embark on protest to shut down the National Assembly complex if the lawmakers attempted to jettison their report.” According to the activists, they would leverage on the current global ENDSARS protests to launch massive anti-looting campaign at the NDDC.
He said: “It is our considered opinion that given the fact that the National Asembly has made far-reaching decisions, which include but not restricted to the dissolution of the IMC, it will amount to disrespect for Section 88(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) from where the National Assembly drew its powers to oversight the NDDC if the recommendations are abandoned.
“In addition to this indubitable fact, the National Assembly would have made a caricature of the doctrine of the separation of powers under a constitutional democracy, if the much-publicised recommendations of the National Assembly are abandoned or set aside or swept under the carpet in the guise of cooperating with the executive arm of the government.
“So far, the inaction of the National Assembly over the illegal contraption in the name of an IMC amounts to a grave conspiracy of silence, which shortchanges the overall interest of the people of the Niger Delta.
“The doctrine of fair representation captured in our operational laws has been ignored as the Niger Delta is made up of nine oil-producing states, which require equal representation on the board and management of the NDDC.
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“The NDRA demands once again that the National Assembly communicates its position on this matter, as we shall not hesitate to shut down the National Assembly complex through massive protest if the current IMC or any IMC for that matter attempts to represent the region on any budgetary matter either by submitting, defending or operating the NDDC budget forthwith.”
Recall that the long-running regime of monumental looting at the NDDC has been a subject of public outrage across the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. With massive protest currently on-going over police brutality across Nigeria, activists are also calling on government and the public especially youths to focus their attention on on-going looting and sleaze at the NDDC..
Recall also that in 2017, the then NDDC managing director, Nsima Ekere, had announced that its contingent liability was N1.3trillion, with 8,000 projects randomly scattered across the nine states of the Niger Delta.
But by last year, the total debt profile of the commission stood at N3trillion, with thousands of abandoned projects all over the region.
Following shocking revelations of the of mindboggling sleaze that has characterized NDDC in the last eight months, under the watch of the IMC put in place by Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Godswill Akpabio, a former chairman of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Board, Ledum Mitee, blamed the the current management of the NDDC for the on-going massive fraud while calling for the inauguration of an already confirmed NDDC Board to take charge of the Commission and sanitize the Commission.
Mitee, also a former president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), had maintained that the failure the NDDC has been dubiously hijacked by crooks who in the name of IMC and are recklessly looting the agency.
He lamented: “I feel scandalised. I feel that NDDC is a scam on all of us people from the Niger Delta, because there are people out there, who had hoped that what the NDDC would do might add value to them. What value does it add to hear they spent N450 million for facemask and hand sanitiser for the Police, including consultancy, community relations, which is euphemism for money they are sharing to people. What have these got to do with development? They have never said we did this project.”
Similarly, a former president of Ijaw National Congress (INC), Charles Harry, said it was agonising that the NDDC has become a cesspool of corruption and place where accountability has been thrown to the dogs.
“It is crazy to hear that in a government agency where salaries are being paid, people will award themselves palliatives to the tune of N1.5bilion. A lot of people should go to jail. The impunity in NDDC has gone beyond the level where people should keep quiet….”, he added.
Also, the Executive Director of the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), David Ugolor, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sanitise the NDDC immediately by removing the IMC and putting in place the confirmed Board which the National Assembly confirmed last year.
According to him, this will halt the current drift and ensure transparency, accountability and sustainable development.
