It appears the Senate will take keen
interest in the new board of the Niger
Delta Development Commission, NDDC.A
spokesman of the senate has given hints
that it may not allow the presidency do
take any illegal step in the
constitution of the new board.The
priority of the senate is to ensure
adherence to the Act setting up the
NDDC in the appointment of the
next board of the Commission.
Senator Ayogu Eze the spokesmn of the
senate gave these hints on Tuesday. His
comment came on the heels of statements
credited to the Presidential spokesman,
Segun Adeniyi that the Rivers State
would produce the next MD of the
Commission.
In the words of Eze: “So far what we have heard and read was a
statement from the presidential
spokesperson that this is what will
happen. “We don’t know the
criteria upon which they based the
allocation of position but I want to
assure you that when that matter comes
before the Senate the position, the
position of the law will be respected.
“The Senate will follow the NDDC Act in
consideration of the submissions that
are made to us because we are lawmakers
and not law breakers. “I also need
to add that I am very confident that the
president is a very law abiding
president committed to due process and
rule of law. It will be surprising if he
will side step the law in trying to make
an appointment into NDDC; I will be
surprised.”
Godswill Akpabio, recently said the slot
of MD rightly belonged to the State.
He is relying on the provisions of
Section 12 (1) of the NDDC Act states
“There shall be for the commission, a
Managing Director and two Executive
Directors who shall be indigenes of oil
producing areas starting with the member
states of the
commission with the highest production
quantum of oil and shall rotate amongst
member states in the order of
production.”
The Revenue Mobilization Allocation and
Fiscal Commission in a letter to the
Senate, signed by its Chairman, Hamman
Tukur, with reference number RMC/ALO/51/S.2/Vol.1.143
and dated 7th May 2009, currently puts
Akwa Ibom State as the highest producer
of crude oil. President Umaru
Yar’Adua, had earlier this month
dissolved the board of the commission
thus relieving of its former Managing
Director, Ndutimi Alaibe (Bayelsa State)
of his position.
Olusegun Adeniyi, in a statement in
Abuja, said board of the NDDC stood
dissolved with effect from April, 12,
2009.Adeniyi said the President’s action
was “in fulfillment of the Section 3(1)
of the NDDC Act, 2000 which provides for
four-year tenure for members of the
Board, other than ex-officio members,
from the date of appointment at the
first instance.” The current Board was
inaugurated on April 12, 2005. Adeniyi's
statement said interalia “In the new
board to be reconstituted, Bayelsa State
will produce the Chairman, while Rivers
State will produce the Managing
Director. The Executive Directors
(Finance and Administration) and
(Projects) will be produced by Delta and
Akwa Ibom States respectively
“In line with Section 2(1) of the Act,
the North-West, North-East and
North-Central Zones will produce three
representatives of the non-oil producing
states on the board, while oil-producing
companies will nominate a representative
to the board in accordance with Section
2(d) of the NDDC Act, 2009.”
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