The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has earned the wrath of the people of the Niger Delta States for attempting to interfere with the inauguration of the new board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by appointing an interim management committee for the Commission while Senate Confirmation of the President’s nominees for the Board are ongoing.
Barely five hours after the President of the Senate Dr Ahmed Lawan read out the letter from President Muhammadu Buhari seeking the screening and appointment of members of the new Board of the Commission, Akpabio announced the inauguration of an interim committee for , saying it is to oversee the planned audit. The Akpabio interim management committee has raised questions because it has no time limit and is to operate for as long as the audit, which timeframe has not been set, lasts.
A flurry of press conferences and statements greeted the announcement, with prominent stakeholders branding it a deliberate attempt to scuttle the new board and advance the minister’s selfish interests.
In its reaction, the umbrella organization of Ijaw youth associations, the Ijaw Youth Council, called for the “immediate sack of the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Godswill Akpabio, for undue interference in the affairs of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).” The statement signed by Eric Omare, IYC President said “the activities of Chief Akpabio since his appointment as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs have led to instability and confusion in the Niger Delta region especially with respect to the management of the NDDC.”
The IYC raised some posers: “The IYC completely reject the interim management committee set up by Chief Akpabio because it is not in the interest of the NDDC and the Niger Delta region to set up such a committee when the Senate has begun the screening and promised to complete the exercise within seven days. In the channels interview, Akpabio in one breath said that the interim management committee would stay in office until the senate approval of the new board and in another breath said that the committee would stay until the completion of forensic audit order by President Buhari. Therefore, we are compelled to ask what exactly is Chief Akpabio’s intention in setting up the interim management committee? How can an interim management committee be set up when within a week time, the Senate would have cleared the board members ready for inauguration? What would the interim management committee achieve for the Niger Delta region within one week period of their stay in office? Why is there so much instability in the NDDC under the Buhari presidency, when the North East Development Commission with similar mandate is focused and delivering on its mandate?”
Comrade Igbini Odafe of the Vanguard for Transparency, Leadership and Democracy (VATLAD) in a similar vein said: “We wish to state unequivocally that we strongly and totally object to this fraudulent, unlawful and provocative action of the Minister because it is a deliberate violation and desecration of the 2001 Act of the National Assembly establishing NDDC and threat to our Democracy. It must be noted that it was never contemplated and will never be contemplated that a so-called Steering Committee be constituted to run and manage the affairs of this very critical and important Agency of Government (NDDC) even when an Interim Management Board is in place and a new Statutory Board is very soon to be inaugurated. Now hiding under the cover of the proposed Forensic auditing of NDDC to act so lawlessly and unconstitutionally should not be allowed and must not stand. It has been stated and agreed by all of us who are critical Stakeholders of the Niger Delta Region that indeed there is need to urgently sanitise the management of NDDC and also that of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, both of which have been enmeshed in years of massive looting and misappropriation of funds released to them.”
The Oron, Akwa Ibom State – based Oro Youth Movement (OYOM), one of the oldest civil rights organisations in the Niger Delta also voiced its opposition to the announcements made by Akpabio. In a press statement signed by its president, Comrade Etifit Nkereuwem, OYOM said “we view this as contrary to the sincere commitment of Mr President to the development of the region. We make bold to describe the Interim Management Committee as illegal, unknown to law and NDDC Act.” It appealed to President Buhari to direct Akpabio to inaugurate the Board of the NDDC once it is screened and passed by the Senate.
In its reaction the Niger Delta Peoples Confederation (NDPC) said the minister’s action is a travesty against the people of the Niger Delta. In a press statement signed by Messrs Iyamu Osai, Movie Kenneth and Iroyameh Bright, the NDPC stated that “the illegal 3 man interim committee set up by Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Sen. Godswill Akpabio to oversee the affairs of NDDC and supervise the forensic audit for a period is designed for his inordinate ambition.”
Similarly, the IYC raised issue with the allegations that Akpabio was using the NDDC to settle his cronies and milk its lean purse. It asked that the decision to transfer the commission to the ministry may be a bad one after all, given the conduct of the minister, and asked for the NDDC to be moved back to the presidency.
The NDPC described the action of the Minister as “criminal, self-serving and capable of setting our already volatile Region on fire.” “It is in the light of the above that we are saying the illegal 3 man interim committee will not preside over the forensic audit and Sen. Godswill Akpabio must be removed as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.”
It would be recalled that President Buhari through the office of the Secretary to Government of the Federation on Tuesday August, 2019 announced the appointment of a 16-man Board for the NDDC, with Chief Pius Odubu as Chairman and Chief Bernard Okumagba as Managing Director, while directing the most senior director in the Commission to act as Acting Managing Director pending Senate Clearance of the new Board. This led to the emergence of Dr (Mrs) Akwagaga Ayia as Acting Managing Director. On Tuesday, October 29, 2019, the names of the newly appointed board members were forwarded to the Senate for clearance and the Senate President Dr Ahmed Lawan directed the Senate Committee on NDDC led by Senator Peter Nwabaoshi (Delta North) to do the screening within one week. However, to the consternation of Nigerians, in the evening hours of October 29, 2019, the minister announced the appointment of a three man NDDC interim management committee led by one Mrs. Joy Ghene Nunieh as Acting Managing Director. The NDDC Act 2000 (as Amended) does not have a provision for an Interim Management Committee.
