- Says N’Delta People Fooled By NDDC Forensic Audit
Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to inaugurate the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Board as confirmed by the Nigerian Senate.
Okowa, who decried the appointment of a Sole Administrator for the commission said states in the Niger Delta are being deprived of adequate representation in decision making at the Commission against the dictates of the NDDC Act.
The Governor, while speaking with newsmen in Oleh, Isoko South Local Government Area, said Governors in the region are “totally embarrassed that after several months we have not been able to reconstitute the board of the NDDC.”
Recall that in December 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari had appointed Akwa as the interim Sole Administrator at the commission, following the sack of Prof. Daniel Pondei as the Head of Interim Management Committee of NDDC.
Following the dissolution of the NDDC board in 2019, Chief Bernard Okumagba, who was nominated as Managing Director of the Commission has since been screened by the Senate and confirmed for the position alongside other 14 members of the governing board. Also, Dr. Pius Odubu was confirmed as Chairman of the board by the Senate.
However, rather than inaugurate the substantive board as confirmed by the Senate, an interim Sole Administrator was appointed to manage the commission with many allegedly fingering Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio in the appointment by the President.
But Okowa has urged President Buhari to inaugurate the board, saying it’s in the interest of the Niger Delta Governors and its people.
“What is going on at the moment is not the best for our region, it is not the best for the oil producing states.
“In the first instance, you have sole administrator that is unknown to law. When we have a full board, the full board has representation from each state and people are able to speak for their States and ensure that there is justice and equity in the distribution of amenities and facilities.
“That we cannot be assured of as at now because you are running a sole administratorship which is foreign to us. I do believe also that the earlier the board is inaugurated, the more we can truly plan.” The Delta Governor said.
Okowa, who said people in the region are being fooled by the forensic auditing of the NDDC account and past spendings, said the inauguration of the substantive board should not be made to wait because of the said audit.
He continued: “We cannot hide under the fact that we are doing a forensic audit. That does not stop us from inaugurating a board because the board is looking forward while you are doing your forensic examination which is about the past.
“Allow a new board to come in to start functioning and when the report of the forensic audit does come, the board can still look at it and know what actions to take or the Federal Government can take those actions that need to be taken.
“We are currently being fooled; we are not happy about it and when our people do agitate, we believe that they are doing so in the right direction.
“I think the time has come for the presidency to listen to the South South governors and all of us from the oil producing states to please quickly inaugurate the board because we are suffering from it.
“We believe that as at today, the funds of that agency is not being managed equitably and it is not being managed in such a way that we can truly say that are accountable.
“The EFCC can take over issue of the forensic audit because we know it is not for the board to handle. The board can only handle those projects but any fraudulent act of the past can be taken over by the EFCC and justice can be done to that.
“We cry to Mr. President today, we add our voice to those of persons from the oil producing states to say that we urgently need a board for the NDDC. It is for the best interest of the oil producing states and the nation.” Okowa added.
