By Abiola Olawale
Governors of the South-South states have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to inaugurate the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) already confirmed by the Senate.
The South-South Governor Forum further demanded that the funds of the commission should be put in an escrow account pending the time the board will be inaugurated.
Recall that the NDDC board was dissolved in 2019, over allegations of mismanagement of the affairs of the commission.
Following the dissolution, President Buhari wrote to the Senate, seeking the confirmation of the nominees for the governing board of the NDDC.
Specifically, President Buhari in the letter sought the Senate’s confirmation for Dr Pius Odubu, former Edo state deputy governor as chairman of the NDDC, Chief Bernard Okumagba as Managing Director and 14 others as members of its board.
The letter reads: “In accordance with the provision of Section 2(2)(a) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) (Establishment) Act, 2000, I write to forward, for confirmation by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the under listed nominees for appointment into the NDDC board, to occupy the positions indicated against their names.”
The letter was subsequently read out by the Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan to the Senators. A committee was therefore set up to screen the names sent by the president. Following the conclusion of the screening, the Senate confirmed the appointment of Dr Odubu and Okumagba as the Chairman and the Managing Director of the commission, respectively.
However, the inauguration was stalled following the appointment of an Interim Management Committee, under the leadership of Prof. Daniel Pondei. In December, 2020, President Buhari sacked the Pondei-led NDDC IMC after court order had nullified the appointment of Pondei. President Buhari further appointed an interim sole administrator.
Speaking on the current stalemate at the NDDC, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, Chairman of the South-South Governors Forum and Governor of Delta State, urged President Buhari to inaugurate the board members which have been screened and confirmed by the Senate.
Gov. Okowa who was speaking at end of the forum’s meeting which held at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Monday night, described the running of the Commission as worrisome, adding that the funds of the Commission should be put in an escrow account pending the time the board will be inaugurated.
The New Diplomat understands that ‘Escrow’ is a legal term describing a financial instrument whereby an asset or money is held by a third party on behalf of two other parties that are in involved in a transaction.
The position of the South-South Governors was contained in a statement by Kelvin Ebiri, Special Assistant (Media), Rivers State Governor.
The statement reads: “So, it means that the NDDC is actually run in such a matter that it is actually not truly beneficial to our people, because there is no stakeholders input in the running of the affairs of the NDDC. We do know that there is a forensic audit taking place and if that reason the board has not been constituted, our advise is that monies being sent to the NDDC should be put in an escrow account until a board is constituted and then proper processes are followed in the expenditure of the money in a such a way it will be visibly accountable in the best interest of the peoples of the Niger Delta.
“A situation where we begin to have emergency projects that possibly will not last three to six months is not right, we don’t feel happy about it and we are urging Mr President to ensure that if the board is not going to be immediately constituted, then funds for the NDDC beyond the payment of salaries should be put on hold until he constitutes the board and the board can now run the finances of the NDDC as per the law creating the NDDC.
“We feel already short changed as a people in the Niger Delta and we believe that we do not wish to see this kind of situation continue going forward into the future, because our people feel the pains, we do not want a situation where there is an abuse of processes, neither should we have a situation where we have abuse of funds. We believe that it is best for both the country, for the states of the Niger Delta and for the people of the Niger Delta when the due process is followed by the reconstitution of the board and also in reconstituting the board, that the reconstituted funds should come in and have funds to spend as per the law,” the Governors said.
