The House of Representatives yesterday ordered the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio to dissolve the three-man interim board of the Niger Delta Development Commission.
The directive followed a motion by Ossai Nicholas Ossai (PDP, Delta) who noted that the constitution of the interim leadership by the minister contravenes the law establishing the NDDC.
According to him, Section 8 of THE NDDC Act provides that its management and administrative shall be the responsibility of the its governing board which includes the chairman, the managing director, the executive directors and other members.
He also recalled that in Octobe, President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered for a forensic audit of the operations and activities of the NDDC from 2001 to 2019.
“In the later part of October 2019, precisely on the 29th, Mr. President through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation announced the appointment of 15 new NDDC board members whose names were thereafter sent to the Senate for confirmation,” he said.
Ossai said it was disturbing that in the evening of October 29, Akpabio allegedly announced the sacking of the Acting Managing Director of NDDC and the appointment of a three-man interim management committee to run the affairs of the NDDC for six months.
He noted that the Senate had confirmed the 15 NDDC board members as requested by the president.
The house directed its Committees on NDDC and Legislative Implementation to ensure Compliance by the Niger Delta Ministry.
