Stakeholders in the Niger Delta have told President Muhammadu Buhari that the current interim management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is the last they will accept from the federal government, urging the president to appoint a substantive board of the NDDC.
The stakeholders, under the aegis of the Niger Delta Movement for Development (NDMD), in a statement by the Publicity Secretary, Ogbakiri Yanga, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State,f declared that they would only accept the current management team led by Dr. Efiong Akwa as the commission’s last interim administrator.
The stakeholders said their call became necessary because they recently “observed with dismay another selfish plot to make the NDDC an appendage of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs with full powers to dictate the direction of the commission.”
The statement indicated that the NDMD emergency meeting, where their resolution was taken, held in Oporoza, Delta State, and was attended by youth leaders and elders from the region.
Members of the NDMD resolved that they would not accept another sole administrator for the NDDC.
The NDMD maintained that any other change in the management of the NDDC should be the appointment of a board rather than a sole administrator, as directed by the Act establishing the commission.
The stakeholders declared: “This is the least we expect from The Presidency and the Ministry of Niger Delta. Any announcement of another interim administrator other than the inauguration of a substantive board will be viewed by us as provocative and the highest level of insensitivity.
“We have stomached this outright neglect of our opinions and feelings for a long time because we believe that Dr. Efiong Akwa will be the last sole administrator of this commission.
“Any other change of management must be the inauguration of a board.
“Any administration other than a substantive board will lead to a revolution of unimaginable proportion in the region, saying the entire Niger Delta was watching with keen interests and was prepared to rise to defend its common interests.
“We want to believe that some selfish individuals are bent in totally damaging the image of President Muhammadu Buhari in the Niger Delta.
“Already, the way some of these individuals have handled the affairs of the NDDC has left much to be desired.
“Don’t taste the wrath of a lion by touching its tail. Any attempt to appoint another interim administrator will be likened to waking up a sleeping dog.”