South-South Elders Progressive Forum, SSEPF, has accused the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, of a ploy to mislead President Muhammadu Buhari in the constitution of a substantive Board for the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
The forum, whose membership comprises elders cutting across the Niger Delta states, alleged that the AGF was creating confusion by misinterpreting to the Presidency, the clear provisions of Section 12 (1) of the NDDC Act 2000 as it relates to the appointment of the agency’s managing director.
SSEPF, in a statement by its Chairman, Dr. Promise Okpolo, and Coordinator, Community Relations, Anderson Etiewo, said while it was indisputably the turn of a nominee from Bayelsa State to occupy the position of managing director in a statutorily composed Board, the AGF was allegedly plotting to manipulate the position in favour of Edo State.
Urging President Buhari to be wary of Malami’s alleged antics, the elders warned that such move if allowed to fly will set the Niger Delta region on fire.
The SSEPF said it was shocked by reports at its disposal on the AGF’s alleged push to interpret the law in the breach of the rightful place of Bayelsa, a major oil producing state, to take its turn for the position of managing director.
No indigene of Bayelsa State with the huge quantum of oil it produces, has been appointed afresh into a substantive board since the Commission’s inception, as Alaibe was only appointed to fill in the gap on a board that he was EDFA upon the resignation of the MD.
Citing previous managerial precedents by past administrations for appointments into the NDDC Board, the South-South leaders posited that even states such as Delta, Rivers and Akwa Ibom, which have had their indigenes appointed as managing directors on a substantive board, had replacements from the same state if an MD exited office before the completion of his four year tenure.