The Transparency and Accountability Advancement Group has expressed disappointment over the appointment of an interim administrator for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to replace the Interim Management Committee (IMC), when there is a Governing Board for the commission yet to be inaugurated.
Reacting to the appointment of Mr. Effiong Okon Akwa, a member of the previous NDCC IMC, as interim administrator, the group, in a statement by Comrade Ebi Arogbofa, National Chairman, condemned “the continuation of this brazen behaviour of the Niger Delta Minister Godswill Akpabio in making illegal appointments of heads of the NDDC, despite sound counsel that it is not only unlawful but disenfranchises the constituent states of the oil producing states to fair representation in the development agency.”
The group said it was strange that President Muhammadu Buhari “approved an illegal appointment to replace another illegal appointment, while rejecting appointment of “cronies in illegal capacities to manage the NDDC, under the guise that it is a undergoing a forensic audit.”
The Transparency and Accountability Advancement Group advised the presidency not to be used by those who have personal agenda in NDDC, while urging the government to “constitute the Governing Board of the NDDC in line with the Commission’s law.”
It said by delaying inauguration of the NDDC Governing Board the government was “toying with not just the harmony of the Niger Delta states and its many constituent tribes who are not represented at the helm of the NDDC but also with the integrity of the forensic audit.”
The group said the ruling of the Federal High Court Abuja questioning the legality of the IMC, underlined the illegality in the previous appointment, stating: “We have stated previously, as have many groups and distinguished Nigerians, including senior lawyers, that the IMC is illegal and there is no reason for not inaugurating a Governing Board for the NDDC. The excuses are not just specious, they are dubious because much bigger institutions such as the NNPC and NPA have undergone such audits without tinkering with their legal management as provided in the laws setting them up. Why must that of the NDDC be different if there are no games behind the scene?”
The group expressed sadness about what it called disregard for the NDDC Act, saying: “The peace in the Niger Delta region should not be taken for granted as many nationalities, groups and stakeholders have continued to question the propriety of appointing an illegal Interim Administrator for the NDDC.”
It called on President Buhari to follow the law setting up the NDDC and “appoint a Governing Board for the Commission to put an end to this criminal illegal circus.”