At this time that the nation is yet to come to
terms with the scandalous Oduahgate and the purchase of two armored cars for
the cost of $1.6 million, the Jonathan administration can ill afford another
scandal which the handling of the appointment of the new Niger
Delta Development Commission (NDDC) board portends. President Goodluck Jonathan
is expected any moment from now to announce a new board for the Niger Delta
Development Commission (NDDC). The board is coming in at a time there are
concerns over abandoned or failing Federal Government projects in the region. It’s
high time the minders of the Jonathan presidency appreciate that the issue of
corruption is taking quite a toll on the image of the administration and might
become an albatross in the run-up to 2015.
The
up-coming appointment of a new board for the NDDC is an opportunity by Mr.
President to inject “a breath of fresh air” in its perception by ensuring that
a clean break from the past characterized by wanton looting and corruption of
the agency.
One
clear fact that is missed by the presidency is that with the huge resources of
the NDDC which is in the neighborhood of N250 billion annually, the agency can
take some pressure off the federal government’s amnesty programme and the
constant friction in the Niger-Delta region if we have in place a
professionally-run and managed NDDC.
It will be recalled that President Goodluck
Jonathan had in July set up the seven-man Steve Oronsaye Committee to audit
contracts awarded by the NDDC. The committee was also charged to examine other
transactions and activities that hindered the activities of the NDDC. It was
also directed to look into the problems that hindered the operations of the
NNDC and generated several concerns among stakeholders.
The Terms of Reference of the Committee were as
follows: To assess and evaluate a sample of some NDDC Projects ; evaluate the
contractor’s prequalification process in the Commission; evaluate the roles and
relationship of the Board, Management and Staff of the Commission; evaluate the
procurement practices of the Commission and its compliance to the letter and
spirit of the Public Procurement Act; evaluate the institutionalization of the
orientation of all personnel of the Commission at all levels, in order to
inform and manage expectations and evaluate fund management of the Commission.
The Steve Oronsaye Committee set up to probe the
Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has described the agency as “acutely
crises-ridden,” and has recommended “immediate intervention” to reverse the
decay in the commission. Only last March, the Presidential Monitoring Committee
on the NDDC, severely indicted the Commission of some shoddy deals to the
expense of the people of the Niger Delta. Chairman of that committee, Chief
Isaac Jemide, said mismanagement of funds, abandonment of projects and poor
execution of contracts featured prominently in the operations of the
commission. Jemide further stated that out of 609 projects monitored by the
committee, 285 were abandoned at various levels, 222 were completed, while 102
were on-going. The committee while presenting the report to President Jonathan
in Abuja disclosed that the NDDC management refused to give concrete
explanation on why some projects were abandoned and had not provided evidence
of any attempt to recover the funds using appropriate government agencies such
as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt
Practices and other related offenses Commission (ICPC).
President Goodluck Jonathan to appoint persons with
good track record, technocrats not political nominees and are committed to the
development of the long-neglected region. This call becomes necessary following
intense lobbying for appointment into the board of the commission. A sound NDDC
board is strategic to the proper management of human and material resources which
would translate to the development of the region. The problem of the NDDC has
always been blamed on lack of regional master-plan, poor funding, project
abandonment, internal leadership tussle and most potently, political
interference.
Barring any unforeseen circumstance, Cross River
State is expected to fill the position of the NDDC chairman while the position
of the MD will go to Akwa Ibom. The MD position appears the most contentious
position. It is already
being alleged that President Goodluck Jonathan may soon announce the board of
the Niger Delta Commission, NDDC, with Bassey Dan Abia, a former acting
Chairman of the commission, as the substantive Managing Director. Abia is said
to have been picked by the governor and presented to the Presidency given his
background as a lawyer and someone who had once served on the board of the NDDC
before it was disbanded by Jonathan. Some Niger Delta
groups have kicked against it, faulting the governor for putting forth Abia’s
name, having been part of the discredited board sacked by Jonathan.
One of the groups, Niger Delta Alliance, NDA, in a
strong petition forwarded to President Jonathan, warned that they would resist
Abia’s appointment with open protest and make it impossible for him to assume
the headship of the commission given his link with the past leadership that
mismanaged the agency.
NDA said in the petition jointly signed by its
Chairman, Dr. Allen Chua Anga and Secretary, Orok Didi Pius that Abia had lost
the locus to serve as the MD of the commission having been earlier sent packing
by the President over the misconduct of the former board. “We therefore humbly
request that Mr. President be circumspect in the choice of the new management
and board of Niger Delta Development Commission to avoid the recurring
painfully unproductive service delivery of the past, where people like Barr
Bassey Dan Abia served us,” NDA warned.
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