Niger Delta group urges Buhari to stop employment at NDDC during forensic audit

A Niger Delta group, the Transparency, Accountability, Equity and Unity Network, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to stop all employment at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) until the ongoing forensic audit of the commission is completed.

The group also called for a thorough investigation into the employment during the Akwagaga Enyia-led Interim Management Committee (IMC) and under the Sole Administrator, Effiong Akwa.

Addressing the journalists in Port Harcourt on Monday, publicity secretary of the group, Aniefiok Ibange while declaring that the group was in full support of the commission employing workers, said the NDDC must follow due process which involves advertising for available vacancies and giving every qualified Nigerian the opportunity to work at the commission.

It condemned any employment process that is not done transparently and advised against any employment during the current forensic audit of the NDDC even as they declared their support for the forensic audit.

Ibange said, “Following our discovery through some incontrovertible resource persons on a repeat employment process that is ongoing in the NDDC, we have deemed it necessary to let the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari and his Vice, Prof. Yemi Ossinbanjo to stop all employments until after the ongoing Forensic Audit and to order a thorough investigation into the employment scandals that started with the Akwagaga Enyia-led Interim Management Committee and has resurfaced under the Sole Administrator, Effiong Akwa.

“We want to state unequivocally that any employment that is ongoing or has been done in the past that was not advertised and proper due processes in line with the norms of the Federal Civil Service cannot be entertained in the NDDC of all places.

“We want to henceforth warn the sole administrator and his supervisor and principal, Senator Godswill Akpabio to desist from going ahead with the President’s name, claiming that the President gave him a waiver to employ staff through illegal means.”

They noted that while it was a positive development for the commission to hire workers in order to create jobs, the vacancies must be advertise as is currently been done by other Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

“We want to use this medium to let them know that we will not stop until we are sure that the employment of our people into NDDC is done transparently”, Ibange stressed adding that Transparency, Accountability, Equity and Unity Network might be forced to resort to legal action to achieve their aim.

“It’s a fight for all of us. NDDC must provide a level playing field for every qualified Nigerian to apply and have the opportunity to be employed in the commission, employment into NDDC should not be done in secret,” he stated.

But in his reaction, Director Public Affairs of the NDDC, Ibitoye Abosede denied knowledge of ongoing or planned employment into the commission.

Speaking via the telephone, Abosede said, “to the best of my knowledge we are not recruiting.”

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