Delta must produce next NDDC MD - Group insists

Agroup, the Niger-delta People’s Assembly ( NDPA), has insisted that it was the turn of Delta State to produce the next Managing Director of the Niger-delta Development Commission (NDDC) based on the Act of the commission.

The group, however, took a swipe at media reports and moves by some individuals and members of the interim management board to act against the law of the commission and jeopardise the peace in the Niger-delta region.

A statement to the media at the weekend, signed by Seiyefa Opuowei, convener of the group, noted that the NDDC Act stated that the tenure of the chairman and Managing Director of the NDDC was supposed to be rotated between the five oil producing states of the Niger-delta, starting from the member-states of the commission with the highest production quantum of oil.

Opuowei said since Akwa Ibom which is the highest oil-producing state had just vacated the position, the position of the chairman ought to go to Delta State, which is the second-largest in oil-producing.

“On the position of a managing director, NDDC Act stipulates that the persons must be indigenes of oil-producing areas, and the slot is to be occupied sequentially starting with member-states of the commission with the highest production quantum of oil.

“Owing to the fact that Akwa Ibom State, which is the presently the highest oilproducing state just vacated the position, and the position of the chairman ought to go to Delta State, which is the second-largest oil-producing, it follows that Rivers

State ought to produce the next managing director being the third producer of oil based on current data obtained from the Department of Petroleum Resources.”

The statement said, it had become obvious that recent media reports were attempt to justify the moves by the acting managing director of the interim management committee Joi Nunieh to extend her stay in office.

The group recalled that Delta State produced the first MD of NDDC being the highest oil producing state then, while the position had since rotated among the oil producing states of Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom.

The statement added that disagreement over the new board had been settled with the naming of the new board by President Muhammadu Buhari and screened by the Senate, in which Delta State produced the MD position, while the chairman was ceded to Edo State, being the next in line, while describing Nunieh interpretation as dubious and fraudulent.

According to the statement, “Our attention has been drawn to an article published in The Guardian of Sunday, December 8 2019 titled ‘NDDC: Board Crisis, Power Play Cripple Agency’ and written by one Kelvin Ebiri who goes by the title ‘South-south Bureau Chief.’

“Ordinarily, we would not have reacted to the issues raised in the said article, given the politicking that has attended the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) since the list of board nominees was presented by President Buhari and confirmed by the Senate on November 5, but we are alarmed at the false claims made in that article, which can threaten the fragile peace in the Niger Delta region.

“It is clear that Ebiri is acting out a script, because the NDDC Act 2000 is very clear on the appointment of Board Members. It is obvious that the usurpers in the IMC are trying to sell a false narrative to justify their agenda to remain at the NDDC.

“What is apparent is that Nunieh’s comment and Ebiri’s analysis have one source and one objective; to sell the story that it is Rivers State’s turn to produce the MD, and strangely laboured to convince the public that the nomination of the MD of NDDC from Delta State was misplaced. This is the most ludicrous argument anyone can make.”

The group further said: “The NDDC Act states clearly that the MD position was to commence with the state with the highest production then, as at 2001, which was Delta State, and rotate subsequently. This is why Delta State produced the first MD in the person of Godwin Omene. That rotation came full circle with the position going from Delta to Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom State in the last four substantive boards.

“Now is the turn of Delta State to produce the MD. So, where did Ebiri and Nunieh get their fictional conclusion that Rivers State should get the MD position?

“Following from Delta State’s preference for the MD position, the chairmanship was ceded and Edo State, being the next in line was asked to nominate someone for the position and did so. This was the settled position that produced the current board members, which the President presented to the Senate and who were subsequently confirmed.

“Everything was done in accordance with law, equity, and due process, in line with good governance principles. Therefore, the attempted false interpretation of the law as canvassed by Nunieh is fraudulent, dubious and quite unfortunate,” the group said.