Ijaw Youths Demand Resignation of NDDC Chair, MD over 2019 Ambition ...Decry politicisation of commission

The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide on Wednesday called for the immediate resignation of the Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, and the Managing Director of the interventionist agency, Mr. Nsima Ekere.

They hinged their argument on the fact that while Ekere has already emerged the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State, Ndoma-Egba has won the candidature of the party to represent Cross River Central in the Senate in 2019.

Secretary General of the IYC, Alfred Kemepado, in a statement from the national headquarters of the body in Yenagoa, noted that the decision of the duo to stay put at the NDDC despite their political engagements had made the agency a shadow of its old self.

According to the influential youth body, following recent political developments, the two NDDC henchmen should either resign or get the sack from the federal government.

 "We state that the duo has become standard bearers of political parties in their various states for governorship and senatorial seats therefore, left the management of NDDC to suffer because of their local politics.

"The issues of the Niger Delta are way too serious for this duo to handle now because of the massive distraction they have with their campaigns.

“The NDDC has almost always been used for politics and that is why it has always been underperforming. They have now prioritised the politicisation of the NDDC and left it in its worst form by taking the commission to campaign grounds," the IYC maintained.

The IYC scribe argued that these days, the chairman and the managing director hardly come to the office to carry out their duties because of their political campaigns.

"But they get paid, which is even the worse form of corruption. The development of the Niger Delta is more important than any private relationship with any of those involved," Kemepado said.

The IYC therefore called on President Muhammadu Buhari to enforce their sack immediately if they refuse to resign, noting that their current attitude and political campaigns at the expense of the commission was inimical to the promises and wishes of the president.