A Civil Society Organisation (CSO), Network Advancement Programme for Poverty and Disaster Risks Reduction (NAPPDRR), has warned Niger Delta ex-militants to desist from carrying out their threat of disrupting oil production in the country.
The ex-militants under the auspices of Reformed Niger Delta Avengers (RNDA) had petitioned the presidency over alleged plan of appointing an Akwa Ibom indigene as the new head of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC), saying the move would trigger a new round of violence in the creeks.
President Muhammadu Buhari had announced the sack of Prof. Kemebradikumo Pondei-led Interim Management Committee of the NDDC.
In a statement, NAPPDRR President, Al-Mustpaha Emem Edoho, and Secretary, Aniekan Willie Akpan, said in sacking the Pondei team “the presidency had clearly stated that it took the decision because of the ‘plethora of litigations and a restraining order issued recently against the Interim Management Committee of the NDDC by a Federal High Court in Abuja’ and to avoid a vacuum while reconstituting the board.
“The implication is that the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, had no hand in the decision to sack the IMC or in the appointment of Mr. Effiong Akwa as the sole administrator of the commission.”
It added that, “Whoever gets appointed to a position will always be someone’s brother or sister. The objection raised by the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives has not introduced any fundamental or new issue that should stop the appointment of a sole administrator of the commission for now. The Minority Caucus is advised to pursue the payment of the trillion naira arrears outstanding to the commission to enable it fulfil its obligation to the Niger Delta.”
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