Stakeholders from the Niger Delta region of the country have condemned the appointment of Charles Ogunmola as the Executive Director on the board t to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), describing his nomination as a violation of the Act that created the commission
The stakeholders from Ondo state and other members from the region argued that Ogunmola hailed from the Owo Local Government Area of Ondo state and not from any of the oil-producing communities, particularly in Ilaje and Ese-Odo local council areas.
However, Nigerian Tribune learnt that following protests and petitions from stakeholders, President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly left the options of rejection or confirmation of nominees into the Governing Board of NDDC to the Senate and the court rather than withdrawing the letter earlier sent to the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly.
President Buhari is said to have been briefed that some of the nominations to the NDDC board were made in breach of the agency’s Act 2020 and also not in tandem with the amended version of 2022.
The development, Nigerian Tribune gathered had created palpable tension in some states over an alleged breach of the NDDC Act with respect to the nominations forwarded to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan by President Buhari.
Notwithstanding, those nominated have reportedly appeared before a special panel of the Department of State Service(DSS) at the Yellow House headquarters of the outfit for the usual security scrutiny that will proceed with their appearance before the Senate Committee on Niger Delta next week.
A top source at the Police Headquarters disclosed that the nominees were also at the Louis Edet House to ‘interact’ with the Inspector General of Police.
The President had on Wednesday, urged the Senate to confirm the nomination of his Special Assistant on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie, for appointment as the substantive Chairman of the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) while he also nominated others as members of the Board including Chief Dr Samuel Ogbuku as Managing Director.
The NDDC board nominees, according to the letter, are Laureta Ifeanyi Onochie (Delta, South-South) as Chairman; Dimgba Erugba State representative (Abia, South-East); Dr Ene Wilcox (Akwa Ibom, State Representative, South-South); Dr Pius Odudu (Edo, South-South); Hon. Gbenga Edema (Ondo, South-West) and Engr. Anthony Ekene (Imo, South-East).
Also on the board list are Mr Onyekachi Dimgba (Rivers, South-South); Alhaji Mohammed Kabiru Abubakar (Zonal Representative, Nasarawa); Professor Tallen Mamma, SAN (North-East Representative, Adamawa); Sodique Sani (North-West, Zonal Representative); General Charles Ehigie Airhiavbere (Rtd) (Executive Director of Finance) and Charles Ogunmola (Executive Director Project, South-West).
But shortly after the names were made public, protests and petitions flooded the Presidency as well as the Office of the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan.
However, the Human Rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana has written a letter to the Senate President highlighting legal infractions committed by President Buhari. Falana wrote on behalf of Ilaje/Ese-Odo Progressive Union in Ondo State, while the three lawmakers representing the state have also kicked against Ogunmola’s nomination.
The three Senators which include Senator representing Ondo State: Robert Ajayi Boroffice(north), Pius Akinyelure(central) and Nicholas Tofowomo(south) are said to have kicked against Ogunmola’s nomination, in particular.
Also, the Ilaje/Ese-Odo Unity Forum pointedly accused the Niger Delta minister of favouring a friend at the expense of the oil-bearing areas of Ondo State
In a statement by Ogundeji Amos Alore and Joshua Ebiegberi, president and general secretary respectively, of the Forum said “Umannah and Charles Ogunmola, the NDDC’s EDP nominee have had a long-standing business relationship spanning decades. He, therefore, decided to help a friend at the expense of the oil-producing mandate areas of Ilaje/Ese-Odo and in a brazen collision against the NDDC Act.
“Unfortunately, those without the privilege of this credible piece of information have gone to town to “fill in the gap” that Ogunmola was nominated by Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu because he is from Owo.
“We call on the Nation’s Attorney General to brace up and do the needful by properly providing the desired legal advice before a new judicial twist stops the new NDDC Board from taking off”.
Specifically, oil-producing ethnic nationalities such as Itsekiri and Ilaje in Delta and Ondo states respectively, have turned in a deluge of protestations and petitions against some persons recently nominated as members of the NDDC Board.
The Itsekiri youths under the auspices of the Itsekiri National Youths Council, INYC, while describing the nomination of Lauretta Onochie as an attempt to subjugate the oil-bearing communities of Warri kingdom had urged the Senate to suspend the screening of the names submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari. They threatened to mobilise protests against the development.
The INYC in a statement by Messrs. Isaac Agbateyiniro and Appearance Afejuku, President and Secretary respectively, maintained that the position of Chairman, Board of the NDDC “should be unconditionally given to the Itsekiri ethnic nationality “for the huge economic responsibility she is carrying for the Nigerian state.
The statement stated that: “Going by the provisions of all extant laws, the Itsekiri ethnic nationality by virtue of being the highest producer of crude oil and gas in Delta and Edo states and being the second highest producer of Oil and Gas in Nigeria deserves to be appropriately rewarded.
“The Itsekiri ethnic nationality also hosts the Bonga, Okan and other critical major oil fields in Nigeria like Egwa, Odidi, Jones creek, Escravos Beach, Yokri, Meji, Meren, Marun, Abiteye, Saghara, Dibi, Otumara, Ogidigben, Olero Creek, Opumami, Utonana, etc operated by Shell, Chevron, Seplat, consolidated Oil, Neconde and other multinational corporations contributing billions of Dollars to the Nigerian Federation.
“An ethnic group can’t boast of these credentials and yet still overlooked during nomination or appointment to serve on the board of a critical agency such as the NDDC. This has been our agitation in recent appointments in the NDDC.
“Deriving our position from all extant laws guiding the oil industry, persons from Itsekiri (foremost oil and gas producing area in Delta state) should immediately be nominated on the list. The Senate should suspend the screening of all nominees on that list until the right thing is done.
Similarly, an Ugbo Ilaje elite group, Ugboland Development Congress (UDC) in Ondo state frowned over the nomination of Ogunmola and called on President Buhari to reverse the appointment.
In a protest letter addressed to both the Senate president and President Buhari and signed by a former Clerk of the National Assembly who doubles as the BoT chairman, Asiwaju Oluyemi Ogunyomi, the UDC rejected the two nominations from Ondo state.
“The recent nominations by Mr President which was forwarded to the Senate and widely circulated in the press is a disregard of the Act of the National Assembly that established the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
“The composition in respect of the nominees from Ondo State is in total contravention of the provisions of the act establishing the NDDC as section 2 (1) (a) and (b) as well as section 12 (1) of the Act establishing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) 2001 as amended.
“Ugboland, in ilaje Local Government Area is the only oil-producing area of Ondo State. This is the only area in the entire State that has memoranda of understanding with the various oil companies in their on-shore and off-shore operations. Any nomination which does not take the above provisions into consideration by going outside Ugboland, will be contradictory to the extant Act.
“Mr President’s letter is befuddling as Charles B. Ogunmola who was nominated for the post of executive director project is from Ipele-Owo in Owo Local Government Area and Hon Gbenga Edema who was nominated as the representative of the State on the Board is from Ogogoro in Mainland in Ilaje Local Government Area.
“The nominations are totally irregular, antithetical and are not in consonance with the extant Act establishing the NDDC, as neither of the nominees is indigenes of the oil-producing area of the State. The nominations are unjust, iniquitous, unfair and therefore unacceptable to the oil-producing communities of Ugboland in Ilaje Local Government of the State.
The member representing the oil-producing Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency of Ondo State, Victor Kolade Akinjo also rejected Ogunmola’s nomination, saying it contravened the NDDC Act.
Akinjo said “This letter seeks to draw the attention of your Excellency to the erroneous nomination of Mr Charles Ogunmola as nominee for the position of Executive Director of Projects on the Board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by the President and Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari while exercising his power pursuant to Section 2(2)(a) of the NDDC Act and to urgently notify the Senate of our rightful and lawful rejection of the said nomination on the ground that such is not in compliance with the provision of Section 12(1) of the enabling aforementioned Act.
“We are fully armed with the knowledge of the power of the President to nominate for an appointment on the Board of Niger Delta Development Commission but the such nomination must be in tandem with relevant provisions of the Act establishing the Commission.
“Undoubtedly, Mr Charles Ogunmola, an indigene of Owo in Owo Local Government Area, a non-oil-producing area in Ondo North Senatorial district of Ondo State, is not qualified for nomination as Executive Director.
“Although for the record, Mr Charles Ogunmola is eminently qualified for appointment as representative of South West, if the Act so permits, but he is clearly not eligible for appointment as Executive Director because he is not an indigene of an oil-producing area as mandatorily required by Section 12 (1)(b) of NDDC Act”, he said.
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