By Gabriel Efo
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was established to remedy the failure of the defunct Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC). The nascent democracy following return to the barracks by the military junta in 1999 was concerned about the state of physical infrastructural and environmental development of the Niger Delta basin.
The killings in Ogoni land, first was Ogoni 4, later the summary execution of the Ogoni 9 while the Commonwealth Heads of State were meeting in New Zealand represented the sordid state of affairs in the region. The threat to oil prospecting, exploration and production was grave in the face of poor returns from the international oil market.
The young National Assembly rose to the occasion and supported the executive arm to enact the bill that established the NDDC.
Since its establishment, most of the actions of its governing principles have been operated in the breach with neither the executive nor the legislature showing demonstrable political will to rectify the wrongs so as to bring the expected dividends to the oppressed and downtrodden.
The current decision by the legislature (House of Representatives) to look into the numerous cases of abandoned projects and now the executive through Mr. President ordering forensic audit of the agency is a welcome development.
But one may ask how did we get here? The decision by the presidency to reconstitute the Board and Executive management of the commission was met with much opposition from the governors of the constituting states which are largely of the main opposition party, PDP.
The belief rightly or wrongly that they ought to have been consulted. Truth must told that in the early years of 2001-2015 when PDP held sway at the national level, no one consulted the opposition as was represented by the legacy parties that have since fused into the APC.
By confronting President Muhammadu Buhari with their grievances, they may have unwittingly hasted the decimation of their support base as many of their supporters would be haunted when the audit begins. The long rule of the PDP meant they formed the greatest beneficiaries of the patronage system that produced the rot that necessitated this probe.
While the audit will create jobs for the APC sympathizers who are into audit business, namely auditors, chartered accountants, tax consultants, estate valuers, quantity surveyors, chartered and consulting engineers and architects; the PDP members who have since expended their loots on wasteful purchases and lifestyles will be frustrated to jump ship into the APC life boats as the exercise likely to take six to 12 months to conclude what would have made them guests of the various anti-corruption agencies. It will be a case of when trouble sleep, yanga go wake am, na palaver you dey find, na palaver you go get oh!
The government must be wise not to frustrate NDDC current budget implementation while the forensic audit goes on. Also, the amnesty programme should be well structured to give confidence to the militants not to see this as a witch hunt.
