Niger Delta Peoples’ Forum urges Buhari to fulfill promise, inaugurate NDDC board

Written by on January 24, 2022

 

President Muhammadu Buhari has been urged once again by the Niger Delta Peoples’ Forum to comply with the law setting up NDDC, to fulfill his promise of June 24, 2021, and inaugurate the substantive board to manage the Commission for the benefit of the people of the nine Niger Delta states

Chief BomaEbiakpo, National Chairman of the group,said the most important issue that the authentic stakeholders of the Niger Delta have consistently demanded, and which even the President had promised and made commitments on is to end the illegal Interim Management / sole administratorship at the NDDC and inaugurate the Board of the Commission upon receipt of the forensic audit, in compliance with the law, and which promise he made to the nation on June 24, 2021 when he received the leadership of Ijaw National Congress (INC) in Aso Rock, Abuja.

On June 24th 2021, President Buhari promised the nation  while receiving the Ijaw National Congress (INC) at the State House in Abuja that the NDDC Board would be inaugurated as soon as the forensic audit report is submitted and accepted.

The President said: ‘‘Based on the mismanagement that had previously bedeviled the NDDC, a forensic audit was set up and the result is expected by the end of July, 2021. I want to assure you that as soon as the forensic audit report is submitted and accepted, the NDDC Board will be inaugurated.”

According to Ebiakpo, the Forensic audit report has been submitted to President MuhammaduBuhari since September 2, 2021 prompting the Ijaw National Congress to caution that “any further delay in the inauguration of the NDDC Board is a clear betrayal of trust and display of state insensitivity on Ijaw nation and Niger Delta region.”

NDPF noted that the situation currently in NDDC which has subsisted for over two years is that there is an illegal sole administrator who is both Managing Director, Executive Director of Finance, and Executive Director Projects, in clear breach of NDDC Act which ensures separation of these duties to ensure checks and balances.

The Niger Delta Peoples’ Forum observed that the continued administration of the NDDC by Interim management committee / sole administrator is illegal because the NDDC Act has no provision for this illegality as the NDDC Act only provides that the Board and Management of the NDDC at any point in time should follow the provisions of the law which states that the Board and management is to be appointed by the President, subject to confirmation by the Senate. According to the group, nobody is supposed to begin to administer the NDDC and utilise the huge funds accruing to it on a monthly basis without passing through this legal requirement as stipulated in the NDDC Act.

Ebiakpo reiterated that presently, across the length and breadth of the Niger Delta region there are unending calls, demands and peaceful agitations of youths, men and women, political and traditional leaders and civil society organisations that the inauguration of the board of NDDC will ensure compliance with the NDDC Act, promote and sustain peace, equity and fairness, transparency and accountability, good governance and rapid development and transformation of the Niger Delta Region.


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