Senate Rejects Interim Management Team of NDDC

The upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly has formally distanced itself from the Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) constituted last month by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

At Thursday's plenary, the Senate emphasised that it has no business with the Commission's ‘illegal’ management team headed by Dr. Joy Yimebe Nunieh.

It specifically insisted that the 15-member governing board whose nominations were forwarded to it few weeks ago by President Muhammadu Buhari, screened and approved by it, should be the one to relate with.

The Senate stand was sequel to its President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan's referral of the 2019/2020 budget of NDDC received from President Buhari last Tuesday to its  committee on NDDC headed by Senator  Peter Nwaoboshi for consideration within two weeks.

Specifically, the Senate president, after approval by senators through voice votes for the budget to be forwarded to the Committee on NDDC, warned that  only the approved board should be recognised for that purpose.

According to him, "The Senate Committee on NDDC should ensure that only the 15-man governing board forwarded to the Senate by the president, screened and approved by us should be related with as far as the  budget of  the agency is concerned and other official matters."

He further directed the Committee to expeditiously engage the recognised board on the budget proposals and report back in two weeks.

Members of NDDC governing board recognised by the Senate are Dr Pius Odubu as Chairman; Bernard Okumagba as Managing Director; Otobong Ndem as Executive Director, Projects, and Maxwell Oko as Executive Director, Finance and Admin.

Other board members are Prophet Jones Erue, Victor Ekhator, Nwogu Nwogu, Theodore Allison, Victor Antai and Maurice Effiwatt.

Others board members are  Olugbenga Edema, Uchegbu Kyrian, Aisha Murtala Muhammed, Shuaibu Zubairu and Abdullahi Bage.

President Buhari had last Tuesday forwarded to the Senate via a letter dated November 21, 2019, the 2019/2020 NDDC  budget.

The letter read: “Pursuant to Section 18(1) of the Nigerian Delta Development Commission Establishment Act, I forward herewith 2019/2020 budget estimates of the Niger Delta Development Commission for the kind consideration and passage by the Senate.

“While hoping that the Senate will consider this request in the usual expeditious manner, please accept, Mr. President, the assurances of my highest consideration.”

Immediately after the letter was read, the Senate Minority Leader, Senator  Enyinnaya Abaribe,  drew the attention of his colleagues to the fact that members of the NDDC board duly confirmed by the Senate were yet to resume official duty.

Abaribe, who came via Order 43 of the Senate Standing Rules to raise the issue, said  the failure of the executive to swear in members of the board duly confirmed by the Senate sequel to a request from President Buhari may threaten early consideration and quick passage of the 2019/2020 budget of the NDDC.

He added that the Interim Committee of the NDDC led by Nunieh is an “illegal contraption” that lacks the backing of law to defend the Commission’s budget.

He said: “Having regard to the fact that this Senate has confirmed members of the board of the NDDC and they are yet to resume office, I fear that we may run into a problem of delayed budget again since nobody will come to defend this budget.

"This Senate, having confirmed the board of the NDDC will not countenance any illegal contraption coming to represent NDDC.

“To prevent a late budget for NDDC that is helping Nigeria on revenue and development of the region, it will be better for us to prevent this issue from coming up.”

 Lawan, who sustained Abaribe’s point of order in his ruling, said: “As far as we are concerned, this Senate knows that we have confirmed the request of the president on the board membership of the NDDC, and we have communicated that.”