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Tag: NDDC

  • Group cautions Abia lawmakers on NDDC nomination

    A GROUP, South East Progressive Assembly (SEPA), has defended the nomination of Abia State All Progressives Congress (APC) chair Mr. Donatus Nwankpa to the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission; (NDDC).

    Nwankpa’s nomination was criticised by some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators, who maintained that he was unsuitable for the position because his community produces no oil.

    But SEPA urged the critics to support Nwankpa’s candidacy, saying he will usher in much-needed development to the state, especially the oil-producing parts.

    The three PDP senators, Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South), Theodore Orji (Abia Central) and  Mao Ohuabunwa (Abia North), it was gathered, had opposed Nwankpa’s nomination on the basis that he hails from Osisioma Ngwa council area which is non-oil producing.

    In a statement signed by its president, Ebere Uzoukwa, SEPA said Nwankpa, a former Minority Leader in the State House of Assembly, and ex-Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development,   has the goodwill to attract people-oriented projects to enhance  development in the oil-producing areas of the state.

    “The South East Progressive Assembly (SEPA) welcomes with joy the nomination of Hon. Donatus Nwankpa as Abia State representative on the NDDC Board by President Muhammadu Buhari. This nomination remains a perfect choice and laudable considering Nwankpa’s background as someone with superlative record in public service.

    “As a former Minority Leader in Abia State House of Assembly and former commissioner for Housing and Urban Development in the state before emerging the state chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Nwankpa,has unarguably distinguished himself.

    “That he doesn’t come from Ukwa West, the oil-producing local government should not override or supplant competence, merit and loyalty roundly considered by President Buhari in nominating Nwankpa for the job. Nwankpa’s local government, Osisioma Ngwa, is and remains part of Abia oil producing area as it houses biggest oil facilities in the state. The people of Osisioma Ngwa have indeed suffered severe degradation and negative effects of pipeline explosion and vandalism.

    “We also consider it appropriate to remind those opposing Nwankpa’s nomination that the pioneer chairman of NDDC, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, didn’t have to come from Ukwa West before his appointment by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.”

  • A befitting home for Rivers NDDC

    A befitting home for Rivers NDDC

    After years of operating from a rented apartment, the Rivers State office of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) now has a befitting home, writes Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo established the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) 16 years ago to ensure sustainable development of the crude oil and gas-rich region.

    NDDC is to improve on the performance and activities of the defunct Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC).

    The Federal Government’s interventionist agency (NDDC) is also to facilitate the rapid, even and sustainable development of the Niger Delta into a region that is economically prosperous, socially stable, ecologically regenerative and politically peaceful, thereby offering lasting solutions to socio-economic difficulties of the Niger Delta.

    The commission took off from rented apartments in the old Government Reservation Area (GRA) in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, before it moved to No. 167, Aba Road, an eight-storey building that belonged to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, before it was taken over by the Rivers government and the commission being its tenant.

    The interventionist agency is still building its permanent corporate headquarters on Eastern Bypass in Port Harcourt, while the construction work started many years ago, with so much work still to be done at the site by the road side.

    NDDC also started operating from rented apartments in the nine offices in the Niger Delta states of Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Ondo, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Abia and Imo.

    The magnificent and befitting Rivers State office of NDDC, located at No. 125, Olu Obasanjo Road, Port Harcourt, which was inaugurated on July 12, is the first state office of the commission to be completed and inaugurated, and has changed the skyline of Port Harcourt in a good way.

    The Acting Managing Director of NDDC, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, who cut the tape to inaugurate the imposing edifice, said it was an indication of the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure real transformation of the Niger Delta and other parts of Nigeria.

    Mrs. Semenitari, a former Rivers Commissioner for Information and Communications, who was appointed as NDDC’s helmsman by President Buhari in December 2015, called for unity and peace, in order to move the Niger Delta forward.

    She said: “We believe that our core mandate, which is to facilitate sustainable development in the Niger Delta region, is to take development to our communities and improve the living conditions of our people.

    “To achieve this, it remains the vision of the NDDC to take development to the people, through projects and initiatives that would have direct positive impact in their lives and help boost traditional livelihoods.

    “To achieve this, we must strengthen our state offices, by providing a befitting edifice that encourages professional conduct, hard work and commitment to duties, as well as decentralising operations.

    “That is why the completion and commissioning of the Rivers State office is very important. We are making a statement about how important our communities are and how we must do the best we can to serve them.”

    The old site of the Rivers state office of NDDC was demolished in March 2014, while work commenced on the new building on May 1, 2014, with the project planned to be completed within nine months.

    In October 2014, within six months of commencement of work, about 80 per cent of builders’ work had been achieved, but the project lost traction in 2015, with the speed of work drastically reduced, due to delayed payments to the contractors by NDDC, occasioned by funding challenge.

    To avoid any hitch during the inauguration of the Rivers state office, with state-of-the-art facilities, the acting managing director of NDDC and some top officials of the commission, on July 11, embarked on pre-inauguration inspection.

    While speaking at the site, she disclosed that the built-to-purpose complex was the first to be completed, as part of efforts to strengthen the presence of the commission in all its mandate states.

    According to Mrs. Semenitari, it was a big relief for NDDC to be able to move into its own property, after sixteen years of working from rented offices.

    She said: “It is very gratifying, as it is one of the things we always wanted to do. Now, we will no longer be chased around by landlords. So, even when we do not have money, we know that at least we can enter into our office space and sleep well. This is why it is such a good feat for us as a commission.

    “Of course, more importantly is the fact that it is a purpose-built structure and our staff will be able to work in a better environment and also deliver better services to the people of the Niger Delta, especially in Rivers State that owns the state office.”

    The CNN award-winning journalist also assured that NDDC would try to ensure that the other state offices across the region were constructed as quickly as possible, for the comfort of staff in the offices, stressing that the new Rivers office would be a model for the other state offices, but with some modifications.

    Mrs. Semenitari revealed that with the Rivers state office of the commission completed; work on the permanent corporate headquarters of NDDC in Port Harcourt would be stepped up.

    She said: “We are going to speed that (work at the permanent corporate headquarters of NDDC) up a bit. It’s been a little slower than we would like, but that has been for several reasons. However, we are going to speed up the process there and we expect that very soon, we should also move into our own property at the headquarters.”

    Taking the NDDC boss round the new Rivers state office, the Acting Director, Project Monitoring and Supervision of the commission, Felix Aomuore, an engineer, revealed that the building is on four floors, with ample space for offices and a basement floor for archiving and car park.

    He said the new building had provisions for many facilities, including a large reception hall, conference/multi-purpose hall for 250 people, staff canteen, sick bay and offices for drivers on the ground floor.

    Aomuore noted that the Rivers state office would accommodate about 120 staff, with unique office suites for the State Representative and the Director of the state office, stressing that provisions were made for some head office directorates, such as Commercial and Industrial Development; Agriculture and Fisheries, Youth, Women and Sports.

    The project consultant, Michael Ukpeh, an architect, pointed out that Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras had been installed to capture activities on all corridors within the imposing edifice and activities on the immediate vicinity of the building, with a control point at the security office.

    Ukpeh noted that besides the two staircases, the building also had an elevator for ease of vertical circulation, with the entry and exit facilitated for the physically challenged, in compliance with the requirements of the National Building Code for public buildings, while the cooling system is centrally coordinated on floor-by-floor controls.

    The project consultant discloses that an internal courtyard complements the large exterior windows to provide ample day lighting in the offices and cross ventilation in case of power failure at the purpose-built office.

    On the inauguration day (July 12), the Governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike; Mrs. Semenitari; the monarch of Port Harcourt City (Eze Epara Rebisi XII), His Majesty Victor Nnanna Woluchem II and others described the new Rivers office of NDDC as a step in the right direction.

    Wike, who was represented by his Special Adviser on NDDC Matters, Aribitonye Okiri, stated that his administration had not been playing politics with development, making him to be at the elaborate inauguration.

    The Rivers governor, who is a former Minister of State for Education, noted that jobs meant for indigenes of the state, especially persons on Levels 1 to 6, should be given to people of the host communities, to ensure peace.

    While also speaking, the monarch stated that the edifice was the first state office to be inaugurated in the nine states of the Niger Delta, which he said was not by accident, but considering the peaceful nature of the people of the state.

    The royal father noted that the area had not been experiencing youth restiveness or cultism, stressing that the only weapon the people had was negotiation, while lauding President Muhammadu Buhari for the right choice of Mrs. Semenitari as NDDC’s acting managing director, describing her as very hardworking, courageous, disciplined, fearless and of integrity.

    The inauguration was also attended by Rivers Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Mrs. Helen Amakiri, and an Assistant Commissioner for Police in Rivers state, Presley Dode.

    In her address, after cutting the tape to inaugurate the building, Mrs. Semenitari said the edifice was designed and completed with the staff members in mind, stressing that it was indeed, workers’ delight.

    The Director of Rivers state office of NDDC, Benson Udo-Asubop, said the building  would enhance the productivity of the workers.

    Udo-Asubop also lauded Mrs. Semenitari for her zeal and commitment to transforming the Niger Delta, in line with the vision of President Buhari and for believing in the abilities of NDDC’s workers at the Rivers state office to ensure service delivery and greater performance.

     

  • Ilaje elders beg Buhari to reverse NDDC’s nomination

    The Association of Old Men and Women (0MAW) in Ilaje Local Government of Ondo State has urged the Presidency to reverse the nomination of Mr Tokunbo Ajasin as Commissioner- nominee for the state on the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)in the interest of justice.

    The group is made up of senior citizens registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Abuja for the development of Ilaje Kingdom.

    A statement at Igbokoda, headquarters of Ilaje Local Government urged President Muhammadu Buhari to embrace rule of law.

    Jointly signed by its Chairman, Chief Tophas Ilurimi, Secretary, High Chief Morris Enikuomehin, Public Relations Director, Akin Enikuomehin and four other Executives of the group, the elders said the appointment violated the NDDC’s Act.

    It reads: “We are of age and conversant with the NDDC’s provisions that stipulates that only an indigene of Ilaje communities has the inalienable statutory right to become the Commission’s representative for the state.

    “It must be acknowledged that the coastal communities always suffer the effect of health and ecological hazards, the destruction of properties,the loss of wealth,jobs and sources of economic livelihood resulting from the oil exploration and exploitation operations of the oil companies in the communities.

    “We consider the appointment of a nominee from over 250 kilometres away from the coast as our commissioner as an affront and invitation to acrimony in the communities and Ondo State in general”

    The group noted that the peaceful atmosphere under which people live in the sunshine state should not be threatened especially on the activities of oil companies in the area.

    It appreciated President Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade and efforts in improving Nigeria’s economy,urging him  to reverse the nomination and pick  representative among those on the list submitted by Ilaje stakeholders for the appointment.

  • Urhobo leaders back Buhari on NDDC appointment

    Urhobo leaders back Buhari on NDDC appointment

    The Urhobo ethnic group in Delta has backed President Muhammadu Buhari’s nomination of Mr. Samuel Adjenakevwe Adjogbe as Executive Director Project (EDP) on the new board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    Leaders of the ethnic gave the backing during walk organized by the Elders and leaders of Urhobo nation led by Olorogun Christopher Ominimini Obiuwevbi and other Urhobo leaders in Ughelli, Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state to drum support for Adjogbe.

    They described the nominee as an “illustrious Urhobo son and a technocrat,” adding that the nomination put the right pegs in the right holes.

    Other Urhobo leaders who attended the rally included Olorogun Felix Ekure, APC chairman in the council and Chairman Hostcom, Urhobo Nation, Olorogun Comrade Efe Okuvwerie.

    They appealed to those opposing ADjogbe’s nomination, particularly their Itsekiri counterparts, to sheathe their swords.

    They said he Itsekiri ethnic nationality has benefitted more in terms of appointments into OMPADEC which metamorphosed into NDDC and the current NDDC.

    Olorogun Ominimini remarked that the Urhobos had never opposed the appointment of any Itsekiri son or daughter into any position at the state or national level.

    He said, “We urge the Itsekiris to embrace and give support to this nomination so that both ethnic groups can continue to enjoy the existing peaceful coexistence amongst them.”

    Speaking in the same vein Ekure described Adjogbe as “the right peg in the right hole because of his wealth of experience and antecedents.”

    The Urhobo leaders appealed to their Itsekiri counterparts to accept the nomination in good faith and support their neighbours in the spirit of good neighbourliness and patriotism.

  • Group to Buhari: Reverse NDDC nominees list

    A pan Yoruba group, the Oodua Nationalist Coalition, (ONAC), has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to reverse the recent new appointments in the Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC).

    ONAC urged President Buhari to reverse the list submitted to the National Assembly and appoint a technocrat of Ondo State extraction as the next Managing Director of the NDDC.

    In a petition sent to the President, ONAC said the recent appointments is skewed in favour of the South South at the detriment of Ondo State, which is the fifth oil producing state in the country.

    “We condemn in very strong terms the failure of you the President to appoint an indigene of Ondo State as the Managing Director of the NDDC. Mr President sir, instead, you appointed both the Chairman and the Managing Director from Akwa Ibom and Cross River States which remain the stronghold of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) which voted and campaigned against your government in the last elections,” ONAC said in the petition signed by Dr Ahmed Adeluyi on behalf of 35 Pan Yoruba groups. Some of the groups include the Oodua Liberation Alliance, (OLA), Oodua People’s Congress, (OPC), Yoruba Professional Association, (YOPA), and Yoruba Christian-Muslim Youth Association (YOCMY).

  • NDDC: Fresh rumpus over Ajasin’s nomination

    NDDC: Fresh rumpus over Ajasin’s nomination

    The appointment of Mr. Tokunbo Ajasin as the Ondo State nominee on the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is still generating outrage in the Ilaje oil producing communities of the state. Various groups and stakeholders in the area have been criticising the nomination of Ajasin, son of the late first executive governor of the state, Chief Adekunle Ajasin from Owo.

    This is just as a socio-political group in the state, Owo Integrity Forum (OIF), condemned attack s on the nominee and called on government to ignore those it accused of fanning the embers of division in the state. The group also cautioned groups and individuals against working against the interest of the state.

    In the past one week, newspapers and social media have been awashed with different reactions to the nomination. Groups like the Malokun Boys and Forest Soldiers, the Coastal Frontiers, the Niger Delta Youths Movement(NDYM) and Niger Delta Christian Leaders Forum (NDCLF), have all spoken against the nomination of Ajasin.

    The NDCLF, in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari dated July 22 and copied to the Vice President,Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki,S peaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara among others, said the nomination was contrary to the provisions of the NDDC Act 2000.

    Jointly signed by the Chairman, NDCLF Elders’Forum, Primate Samuel Ayodele, the Vice Chairman, Bishop F.I Olugbemi and the Legal Adviser, Barr. J.O Okorisa, the group said the appointment of NDDC board is governed by section 2 subsection 1 of the Act.

    “It is an unassaillable fact that the said Ajasin is not from the oil producing area of Ondo State where the position is strictly reserved for in accordance with the provision of the NDDC Act 2000 Cap No 6 Law of Federal Republic of Nigeria.The said Ajasin is from Owo in the northern Senatorial district.

    “It is on record that right from inception of the establishment of the Commission,all the previous members of the Board from Ondo State were selected and nominated from Ilaje Local Government,which is the only mandate area.

    “We believe that the nomination of Ajasin from the upland area was done in error and we are calling on President Buhari to make amend. Consequently, we urge the President to comply with the provision of Section 2 subsection 1 of the NDDC Act 2000 by ordering the replacement of Ajasin with a bona fide indigene of Ilaje local government,” the group urged.

    But in a statement signed and made available to journalists in Ibadan by the President of OIF, Comrade Segun Adetula, he said indigenes of the state are perturbed by the propaganda of some groups from Ilaje area of the state, saying it’s no longer business as usual where money meant for projects will be squandered.

    “The act that established NDDC states in clear terms in paragraph 2b that one person who shall be an indigene of an oil producing area shall be appointed to the board and the reference to an area was defined by specific mention of the respective oil producing areas which include; Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross-River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers State. There is no reference to any particular locality.

    “If Owo could allow an Akoko man, Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun, to head the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic in Owo, why are they campaigning against Ajasin’s nomination? Going by the antecedents of the Ajasin family in the development of Ondo State, positive change and development projects should be expected in a couple of months,” the group argued.

  • NDDC’s appointment sparks row

    NDDC’s appointment sparks row

    The Ilaje World Congress, the host community of oil producing area of Ondo State, has kicked against the appointment of a non-Ilaje person by the governor to represent the state on the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    Its spokesman, Mr. Ola Judah, told The Nation that the appointment was improperinhuman. He said Governor Olusegun Mimiko, over the years marginalised the Ilaje and did not involve them in the management of oil activities.

    Ola said: “Ilaje World Congress with the largest number of Ilaje sons and daughters both in Nigeria and in Diaspora, has strongly and unanimously condemned the appointment of one Olatokunbo Ayotunde Ajasin, designated to represent Ondo State on the NDDC board. We demand for the immediate withdrawal of Ajasin and his replacement by an indigene of oil producing communities of ilaje enclave.

    “The thought of appointing someone outside the ilaje nation in itself is malicious, ungodly and it reveals the extent to which Ilaje people have been dehumanised, marginalised and treated with no respect by the leadership of various governments.

    “The inclusion of Ajasin Olatokunbo and the submission of such name to the Senate is a criminal offence as it is against the law and parliamentary Act 2000, section 2.1b, that established the Board of NDDC. The provision stipulated that an indigene from the oil producing area shall be appointed not and indigene from Owo, a non oil producing area. From our record, ilaje communities are the only producing communities in Ondo State, and for convenience sake, the Ese-Odo, our neighbouring communities can be considered.”

    Ola said members of the Congress would not watch the injustices perpetuated on the Ilaje communities by the government to continue.

    ‘’The Mimiko-led government has  dealt with the ilaje people by withdrawing the 40 per cent of the 13 per cent oil derivation that was meant for the development of the oil producing communities to fund his own agenda at the detriment of ilaje people. Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC) has become Mimiko’s pocket portfolio. Ilaje people suffered for eight years under Mimiko despite our loyalty to him. The governor played the Ilaje people to the gallery,’’ Ola added.

    He said: “Why is it that there is no Ilaje person considered fit to be at the centre where consultations and decisions that affect Ilaje people are made? Why must we be treated and marginalised like this? Enough is enough. We demand to be treated with respect and be given what rightly belongs to us. Appointment of an indigene from the oil producing area of the state should be effected and a credible Ilaje man appointed to the NDDC Board as the law stipulates. We shall continue frown at any attempt by any person or group of persons trading with the general interest of the Ilaje people for personal agenda. We appeal to the leaders of the APC-led government to intervene and reverse the appointment, and do the right thing.”

  • Delta APC hails Buhari on NDDC new board

    Delta APC hails Buhari on NDDC new board

    The Delta State All Progressives Congress (APC) has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for considering the feelings of the party’s leadership and members in the choice of the state’s representatives on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    The state’s party leader and 2015 governorship candidate, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor; a member of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Frank Ovie Kokori and a party chieftain, Justine Rewane, were reacting to the composition of the intervention agency’s new board.

    They expressed gratitude to the President for choosing the two members from Delta State, Samuel Adjogbe – Executive Director Project nominee, Delta Central and Dr Ogaga Ifowodo, the state’s representative.

    They APC stalwarts said the appointments ended negative insinuations on the capacity of the party’s leadership in the state.

    Addressing reporters on the appointments, Emerhor praised President Buhari for listening to the cry of APC in Delta State.

    The party leader noted that the appointments had reinvigorated party members to work harder to reposition it to take over the state in 2019.

  • Senator, group reject Buhari’s NDDC nominees

    Senator, group reject Buhari’s NDDC nominees

    A senator representing Abia South, Eyinnaya Abaribe and a group in Ondo State, Ilaye Coastal Areas Development Association (ICACC) yesterday rejected the nomination of representatives of the states on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC).

    The names were sent to the Senate last week by President Muhammadu Buhari for consideration and confirmation.

    The President, in a letter read last Thursday by Senate President Bukola Saraki, named Donatus Eyinnah as Abia State NDDC representative while Mr. Tokunbo Ajasin was named the representative of Ondo State.

    Abaribe said the appointment of a candidate out of the oil producing area was against the law.

    The senator noted that it was against the Act setting up the NDDC to nominate a state representative of the intervention agency from non-oil producing area of a state.

    He insisted that the President should replace the nominee with somebody from Ukwa West Local Government Area, which he said is the only oil producing area in Abia State.

    A member representing Ukwa West and Ukwa East Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Uzoma Abonta, also rejected Eyinnah’s nomination, saying it was against the law setting up NDDC.

    He said: “We have to learn to respect the law in a democratic regime, which has its foundation on the rule of law. Section 2(1b) of the NDDC Act clearly stipulates that those who would be nominated from the states must be indigenes of oil producing states. That is the law, and it cannot be circumvented.”

    The people of Ilaje Oil-Producing Area of Ondo State have also rejected Ajasin as the state’s nominee on the board of NDDC.

    A statement by the President and Secretary of Ilaje CoAstal Areas Development Association (ICACC), Prince Lawson Akintokun (JP) and Comrade Bode Asogbon said the nomination of Ajasin as Ondo State’s representative on the board of NDDC was an aberration.

    The statement reads: “The Ilaje Costal Areas Development Association on behalf of Oil Producing Areas Of the coastal communities of Ondo State wishes to express our displeasure over the inclusion of one Olatokunbo Ayotunde Ajasin from Owo as a member designate to represent Ondo state on the Board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    “Olatokunbo Ayotunde Ajasin is not from the oil producing area of Ondo state where the position is strictly reserved for in accordance with the provision of the Niger Delta Development Commission (Establishment etc) Act 2000 Act no 6 law of the federation of Nigeria.

    “Section 2 (1b) provides that ‘one person who shall be an indigene of an oil producing area to represent each of the nine oil producing states, that is, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross-River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers’.

    “Therefore, as a peace loving people, we implore Mr. President to order the withdrawal of the list and replace Ajasin with a credible person from the oil producing coastal areas of Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State. We also appeal to the Senate president Bukola Saraki and other distinguished members of the Senate to take note of this as it will amount to injustice to our people.”

  • Senator, group kick against NDDC nominees

    Senator, group kick against NDDC nominees

    Groups from Abia and Ondo states yesterday kicked against President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominees for appointment into the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC).

    The names were sent to the Senate last week for confirmation.

    Buhari, in a letter read by Senate President Bukola Saraki, on Thursday, named Donatus Eyinnah as Abia State NDDC representative. Mr. Tokunbo Ajasin was named as representative for Ondo State.

    The Senator representing Abia South, Enyinnaya Abaribe, kicked against the nomination.

    Abaribe noted that the appointment of a candidate from a non- oil producing area of the state was against the law.

    Abaribe said it was against the Act setting up the NDDC to nominate a state representative of the NDDC from a non-oil producing area.

    He said the President should replace the nominee with somebody from Ukwa West Local Government which, he said, is the state’s only oil producing area.

    A member representing Ukwa West and Ukwa East in the House of Representatives, Uzoma Abonta, also rejected Eyinnah.

    Abonta also said the nomination was against the NDDC law.

    He said: “We have to learn to respect the law in a democratcy, which has its foundation on the rule of law. Section 2(1b) of the NDDC Act stipulates that those to be nominated from the states must be from oil producing areas. That is the law and it cannot be circumvented.”

    The people of Ilaje in Ondo State have also rejected their nominee on the board of NDDC.

    Ilaje Coastal Areas Development Association (ICACC), in a statement, by Prince Lawson Akintokun, president, and Secretary Comrade Bode Asogbon said Tokunbo Ajasin’s nomination was an aberration.

    The statement reads: The ICADA, on behalf of oil producing areas of  Ondo State expresses its displeasure at the inclusion of Olatokunbo Ayotunde Ajasin from Owo, as a member designate to represent Ondo on the Board NDDC.

    “Ajasin is not from the oil producing area of Ondo where the position is reserved for, in accordance with the Niger Delta Development Commission (Establishment etc) Act 2000 Act No 6 Law of the Federation of Nigeria.

    “Section 2 (1b) provides that “one person who shall be an indigene of an oil producing area to represent each of the nine oil producing states i.e. Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross-River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers.

    “Therefore, as a peace-loving people, we implore Mr. President to order the withdrawal of the list and replace Ajasin with a credible person from the oil producing area of Ilaje in Ondo State. We appeal to the Senate president Bukola Saraki and other Senate members to take note of this as it will amount to injustice to our people.”