National President of Ijaw Media Monitoring Group (IMMG), Elder Asu Beks has raised an alarm that the people of the Niger Delta region will not allow the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to campaign in the region, when the campaign kicks off on September 28, if the substantive Board of NDDC is not inaugurated before then.
The National President of IMMG stated that “as we already know, Mr President has sent the nominees to the Senate and the Senate has approved it. I don’t know why the man who swore to protect the constitution of Nigeria is the one now breaking the law. There is no aspect of the NDDC Act that says there should be interim management or a sole administrator. But we have had up to four or five of such since the beginning of this administration. It is totally unacceptable.”
Also, another group, The Niger Delta Rescue Movement (NDRM) has already vowed not to back the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 elections following the delay to inaugurate a substantive board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The spokesman of NRDM, Jonathan Okwa, speaking in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state, stated that following the prolonged delay of President Buhari to give the Niger Delta people what is rightfully theirs, in accordance with the law, the NDDC Act, the group would ensure the mobilisation of the people of Niger Delta region to vote against the APC in the 2023 presidential and general elections if the board is not inaugurated.
The President had made commitments 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, which commitment he made to the nation on June 24, 2021, when he received the leadership of Ijaw National Congress (INC) in Aso Rock, Abuja.
When he received the leadership of the Ijaw National Congress (INC) in Aso Rock, Abuja, on June 24, 2021, President Buhari made a commitment to the nation. The President said: ‘‘Based on the mismanagement that had previously bedevilled 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, the NDDC Board will be inaugurated.” The Forensic audit report has been submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari one year ago, on September 2, 2021. Regrettably, the NDDC which is the foremost Niger Delta regional development agency and which was set up to right the wrongs in the Niger Delta is still being run by a sole administrator appointed in breach of the NDDC Act.
Despite further assurances that the submission of the report would see to the inauguration of the board, it has not ended the delays, manipulations and hijacking of the NDDC by vested interests.
Niger Deltans are also accusing the Buhari Administration of discrimination and double standards. They point out that whereas the North East Development Commission (NEDC) has been allowed to function with its duly inaugurated Board in place (since May 2019) in line with its NEDC Act thereby guaranteeing proper corporate governance, accountability, checks and balances and fair representation of its constituent states, the NDDC, on the other hand, has been run arbitrarily in the last three years by Interim committees/sole administrator in breach of the NDDC Act. To the detriment of the entire Niger Delta region, these illegal interim contraptions have been used to fleece the NDDC of its funds in the last three years.
There are persistent calls on President Buhari to kindly heed the call of Niger Delta leaders, governors, youths, women, traditional rulers, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders, comply with the law setting up NDDC, and also fulfil his own promise of June 24, 2021, and inaugurate the board of the Commission to ensure accountability, checks and balances, probity and equitable representation of the nine constituent states
