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Buhari Sacks two NDDC directors over Bayelsa election

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9 years ago

January 7, 2016

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Barely 48 hours to the conduct of the January 9 supplementary election in Bayelsa State, President Muhammadu Buhari has sacked two executive directors of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) ostensibly to help fund the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) which seeks to upstage the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and incumbent Governor Sierake Dickson. The affected directors are Engineer Tuoyo‎ Omatsuli, Executive Director Projects (EDP) and Dr Henry Ogiri, Executive Director, Finance and Administration (EDFA), both of whom were booted out and their offices sealed. They were ordered to hand over to the most senior civil servants in their units.

National Daily sources revealed that the two directors were also forced out of the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt Thursday afternoon soon after their letters of sack reportedly signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) was delivered to them.

It was however gathered that both men were particularly targeted and removed because they could not be trusted to carry out the hatchet job of making huge funds available to the APC and its gubernatorial candidate in Saturday’s election, Chief Timipre Sylva who is running against Dickson in the supplementary poll.

Tuoyo and Ogiri were part of the management of NDDC appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan headed by Bassey Dan Abia as Managing Director, with the latter booted out for Mrs Ibim Semenitari appointed last week by President Buhari.

There were speculations earlier that only Dan Abia would be swept out of office as Tuoyo, who had since dumped PDP for APC was said to have secured the protection of Buhari for him and Ogiri to remain in office. The announcement of Semenitari as interim MD without other directors named was said to have further swelled the rumour.

But Thursday’s drama was said to have come as a big surprise to the sacked directors and other top staff of the NDDC with many junior staff said to be rejoicing over the development. No official statement had been issued giving reason for the sack.

National Daily however learnt that the sack was not unconnected with Bayelsa poll as the EDFA was specifically directed to hand over to one Mr Egbejule, director of Finance and Supply in the commission .

In the absence of a board, the appointment of an interim MD and finance said to be in the hands of the said Egbejule, insiders reveal that the stage was said for what they termed “hanky panky”. People were later said to be speaking in hushed tone about the mission to fund Bayelsa election with NDDC money.

Efforts to get the commission’s director of Corporate Affairs, Mr Abosede to comment on the developments proved abortive as his phone failed to connect.