By Haruna Salami
The Senate has called on the executive arm of the Federal Government to make the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) forensic audit report public following the confirmation of Lauretta Onochie as Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) board.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan made the call at plenary on Tuesday after confirming President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominees for appointments as chairman and members of NDDC board.
The forensic audit report of the NDDC has been kept secret largely due to the absence of a substantive board for the Commission.
The confirmation of the President’s nominees followed the presentation and consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on the NDDC, by the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Amos Bulus (Gombe South).
The confirmation of Lauretta Onochie and 12 others as chairman and members of NDDC is in accordance with the provision of Section 2(2)(a) of the Niger Delta Development Commission Establishment Act.
The other nominees confirmed are Dimgba Erugba,State Representative, Abia state (South East), Dr. Emem Wilcos Wills, State Representative, Akwa Ibom (South-South), Elder Dimaro Denyanbofa, State Representative, Bayelsa (South-South) and Hon. Orok Duke, State Representative, Cross River (South-South).
Others include Gbenga Edema, State Representative, Ondo (South-West), Elekwachi Dinkpa, State Representative, Rivers (South-South), Alh. Mohammed Kabir Abubakar, Zonal Representative, Nasarawa (North-Central), Alh. Sule-Iko Sadeeq Sani Sami, Zonal Representative, Kebbi (North-West) and Prof. Tahir Mamman, SAN, OON, Zonal Representative, Adamawa (North-East).
Chief Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, Bayelsa state, (South South will serve as Managing Director for a term of two years to complete the unexpired term of his predecessor in office, while Maj. Gen. Charles Airhiavbere, Edo state (South-South) is Executive Director (Finance) and Charles B. Ogunmola Ondo (South-West) isi Executive Director (Projects).
However, there was obvious division among members of the NDDC Committee as Senators Serike Dickson (Bayelsa Central) and Nicholas Tofowomo (Ondo South) who are members of the committee strongly opposed the report for not capturing the views of those who opposed certain nominees who were not from “oil producing communities”.
Dickson argued that that the law specifically refer to oil producing communities, as opposed to oil producing state, because according to him not all parts of a state may qualify for oil producing community.
On his part, Tofowomo said the three of them senators from Ondo state were opposed to the nomination of Charles Ogunmola as Executive Director (Projects) because he is not from oil producing community of Ondo state.
However, the Senate went ahead to confirm Onochie and 12 others who were screened last week because according to Lawan the NDDC has been without a board for a very long time and time is of the essence.
Lawan, in his remarks congratulated those confirmed and charged them to work for the rapid development of the region and stop the NDDC from being a “cash cow”.
Engr. Anthony Okanne State Representative, Imo (South East) and Dr. Pius Egberanwen Odudu, State Representative, Edo (South-South) were however not confirmed because they did not present themselves for screening last week.
