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.”
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