Despite strident clamour by various interest groups and stakeholders for the inauguration of the board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the recomposition of the board.
The yet-to-be inaugurated board led by Dr. Pius Odubu was screened and approved by the Senate on October 30, 2019.
However, Buhari has validated the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the commission led by Dr. Joi Nunieh. The new twist at the NDDC was contained in a statement on Thursday morning by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina.
According to the statement, the supervisory power over the commission would continue to rest with the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs. The President also informed that the IMC of the commission would function until the forensic audit of the accounts and activities of the commission, which he ordered earlier in the year, is completed.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has approved that the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) be recomposed and inaugurated after the forensic audit of the organisation.
“The President has also directed that the Interim Management Team of the NDDC shall be in place till the forensic is completed and that the supervision of the Commission shall remain under the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs,” the statement said.
The Board has Dr. Pius Odubu from Edo State as Chairman; Chief Bernard Okumagba from Delta State as Managing Director; Mr Maxwell Omo from Bayelsa State as Executive Director, Finance and Administration; and Engr. Otobong Ndem as Executive Director, Projects.
The IMT has a six-month mandate to discharge its services, though the National Assembly has declared that it would not approve the 2020 budget for the commission until the inauguration of the new board.
Straightnews had published as an opinion wrote: “Having realised the need to prepare the stable so they will be in a position to hit the ground running, the IMC became the utmost while the forensic audit is conducted.”
