The Civil Society Groups for Good Governance (CSGGG) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to heed the Nigerian Senate’s advice to sack the management of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
The Senate had on Thursday asked the president to as a matter of urgency sack the Professor Kemebradikuom Pondei-led interim Management Committee of the NDDC over alleged financial recklessness.
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The Senate also called for a new board of the NDDC to be constituted and the commission returned under the supervision of the presidency.
In a statement released in Abuja on Thursday and signed by its convener, Comrade Ogakwu Dominic, the CSGGG commended the Senate for its resolution.
The group urged the president to adopt the resolution of the Senate in order not to give the impression that the All Progressives Congress-led federal government condones corruption.
The group said: ”We note the resolutions of the Senate and we commend the federal legislators for their timely intervention.
”Their resolution is consistent with our stance that the current management of the NDDC is disbanded and a new board constituted for the commission.
”We call on the president to ensure those indicted in the recent financial mismanagement are prosecuted. This will serve as a deterrent to those who will be appointed to oversee the commission in future.
”We also urge the president to restore the nominees that were screened by the Senate and awaiting swearing-in, before their nomination was hijacked by desperate politicians hell-bent on milking the NDDC dry.
”The former management of the NDDC was on the right track with their policies before some politicians hijacked the agency. There is a need to go back to the status quo for peace and development to return to the Niger Delta.
”The NDDC should not be an ATM for desperate politicians who are concerned with their personal interest than the overall interest of the Niger Delta region.”
Similarly, the CSGGG called on the president to intervene in the current crisis rocking the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund.