Niger Delta Youths Threaten Showdown With FG Over NDDC Interim Committee

By Ovie Okpare

Niger Delta youths on Monday asked the Federal Government to immediately dissolve the three-man Interim Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) or be ready to face mass action from youths in the region.

The youths under the aegis of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) threatened to shut down operations of the NDDC and other Federal Government agencies if the Interim Committee which it claimed was illegal is not rescinded  

IYC President, Mr. Eric Omare, handed the threat on Monday at a press conference attended by national executives of the body and other notable youth groups in the region including the Ijaw People’s Development Initiative (IPDI)  in Ekpan, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State.

Omare stated that youths and people of the Niger Delta region will resist the “illegality” he said was being championed by the Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio. 

The youths appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately inaugurate the new NDDC board upon Senate screening and confirmation, adding that the setting up of an interim committee by Akpabio runs contrary to the act establishing the interventionist agency.

The IYC President stressed that the Federal Government should stop using the commission as a “tool for political patronage”, positing that it was the reason the agency had failed to meet the developmental needs of the impoverished people of the region whose resources sustained the country.

They warned that should their demands for the dissolution of the Interim Committee and subsequent inauguration of the new board is ignored, they will have no option but to embark mass action that will cripple the agency.

“We are calling for the immediate dissolution of the illegal interim management committee set up by the minister of Niger Delta affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

“When President Buhari dissolved the acting board led by Prof Nelson Brambaifa as could been seen in the letter, he (Buhari) never contemplated setting up an interim board. Aside that, interim committee is illegal and unknown to the law.

“That the board of the NDDC that has been cleared and represents different interest groups in the Niger Delta, even if there are reservations somewhere, should be inaugurated without delay upon the Senate’s confirmation.

“That the forensic audit ordered by Mr. President be supervised directly by Mr president and not the minister of Niger Delta because we don’t have confidence that he can supervise a transparent process.

“If our demands are not met we have no other option than to resort to mass action across the Niger Delta region. The NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt will be shut down. We will not allow the illegal contractor called interim management committee to sit down in Port Harcourt and filter away our resources while our people suffer in penury.

“We want our demands to be met within a reasonable time and if they are not met, we will have no option than to embark on mass action to ensure that our demands are met”,  Omare stated.

Recalling past instances of forensic audits carried out on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) by the former President Goodluck Jonathan government and that of management of arms fund under the National Security Adviser office at the inception of the Buhari-led administration, he noted that the NNPC and the NSA office had substantive boards managing them while the audit was ongoing.

“The NNPC or National Security Adviser’s office were not declared vacant nor an interim management committee set up. They are using the NDDC as a tool for political patronage.

“Whereas the North East Development Commission recently set by Buhari have a stable leadership and is delivering on its constitutional mandate.

“The question now is why the NDDC is different? Why do those in power use the NDDC to promote their political interest at the expense of the Niger Delta people”, the youths further warned.

Omare particularly debunked the claimed that the interim committee will assist in smooth running and supervision of the audit process, adding that the claim is “untenable and baseless.”

IYC President added, “The reason is that the Committee is headed by Dr. Joy Nunieh from Rivers state. The same Dr. Joy is the person that the president nominated to represent Rivers state in the board of NDDC.

“If you feel Dr. Joy will not interfere with the audit as a member of the interim management committee, what makes you think that as a member of the substantive board she will interfere with the audit?

“That the forensic audit ordered by Mr. President be supervised directly by Mr President and not the minister of Niger Delta because we don’t have confidence that he can supervise a transparent process.

Also lending his voice to the position of the youths, the National President of IPDI, Comrade Austin Ozobo, advised the Federal Government to tread carefully so as not to plunge the region into another rounds of crises.

Ozobo called for the immediate removal of NDDC from the ministry of Niger Delta Affairs under Akpabio, warned that nobody should trade with the interest and development of the Niger Delta region.

According to him, “The NDDC Interim Management Committee is illegal and does not have the blessing of the people of the region. The committee should be immediately dissolved in the interest of peace if not the commission will be shut down.”