NCDMB not in competition with NDDC —NDIMRC

THE Niger Delta Indigenous Movement for Radical Change (NDIMRC) has said that the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) is not in competition with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as being alleged by 4BetaNija.

It also added that NCDMB was neither playing an ethnic card nor politics, describing the board as transparent and serving the interests of all Nigerians.

NDIMRC’s statement signed by its President, Nelly Emma; Secretary, John Sailor and Public Relations Office (PRO), Stanley Mukoro and made available to journalists on Monday, gave NCDMB a clean bill of health.

The group said that the Board was on course and had never deviated from the Federal Government’s policy on the development of local content.

It flayed the Coordinator of 4BetaNija, Bapakaye Georgewill, for accusing NCDMB of being biased in its mandate execution.

It averred that the Lagos-based contractors, which accused NDDC of taking over its function, did not want anything good for the Niger Delta region.

“We want to express our disappointment with the recent accusation against the NCDMB by the Coordinator, 4BetaNija, Bapakaye Georgewill.

“The Board is on course with its mandate of developing Nigerian content holistically.

“It is not true that the Board has aligned itself exclusively with certain private interests and not also championing the cause of one section of Nigeria to the detriment of all others.

“The Board is not being sectional, regional or promoting tribal interests to the detriment of other qualified parts or people of Nigeria.

“These are cheap blackmail, calculated to paint the Board in a bad light,” the group said.

“The management of the Board is not playing ethnic politics by directing that companies in the sector move their operations to a particular region.

“We want to make the coordinator of 4BetaNija to know that it was the directive of the Federal Government to multinational oil companies to relocate to their host states and so it is wrong for the Board to be accused of carrying out tribal, ethnic or regional sentiments on the relocation of oil companies to their host states.

“This directive of the Federal Government must be enforced. To the best of our knowledge, NCDMB has been transparent in the protection of all Nigerians and never for once favour a particular ethnic group or private investor.

“The activities of the Board are not partisan. The Board has been fair to all Nigerians and the records are there for all to see.

“The coordinator of 4BetaNija should not deceive Nigerians and should endeavour to get his facts right.”