THE SUN

The clamour for the appointment and inauguration of a substantive board of the Niger Delta Development Commission(NDDC) has assumed another worrisome dimension, as political gladiators and interest groups from the Niger Delta region square up in a bid to ensure persons loyal to them are included in the yet to be constituted board.

In the mix is the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio who incidentally is the supervising minister for the government interventionist agency, Minister of State for Petroluem and former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, his transport counterpart, Chief Rotimi Amaechi and the  Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo- Agege.

Also believed to be interested in who gets what is Minister of State, Labour, Mr Festus Keyamo, former chairman of the All Progressive Congress(APC), Adams Oshiomhole, former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta(MEND),  Chief Government Ekpemupolo  (aka Tompolo) while the Ijaw National Congress(INC) and the Ijaw Youth Congress(IYC) being pressure groups are also watching from the sidelines

The NDDC was established in 2000 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo as part of efforts to develop the Niger Delta region due to the cries of marginalisation and neglect.  States captured by the mandate of NDDC in alphabetical order include Abia,  Akwa- Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and River states.

From investigations, the race for the top job of the NDDC has gathered momentum in Bayelsa more than any other state because it appears it has been pencilled down to produce the Managing Director. 

At inception in 2000, the first Bayelsan to hold a management position was Mr Ndutimi Alaibe who functioned as the Executive Director, Finance and Administration, and later the Managing Director. It is believed that existing NDDC projects across the state were the ones awarded and executed during the period Alaibe was at the NDDC. That period was described as the glorious era of the Commissison. After him, other Bayelsans that have either been Managing Director or Chairman of NDDC include Air -Vice Marshal Larry Koinyan(rtd), Dr Tarilah Tebepah, Prof Nelson Brambiafa, and Prof Kemebradikumo Pondei.

In August 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari nominated a new board which had Mr Bernard Okumagba from Delta as Managing Director while former Edo State deputy governor, Pius Odubu from Edo State was to serve as Chairman.  Mr Otobong Ndem from Akwa- Ibom was to serve as Executive Director, Projects while Mr Maxwell Oko from Bayelsa was to serve as Executive Director, Finance. However, the board was not inaugurated; it was rather replaced by an aberration called Interim Management Committee (IMC) headed then by Dr Joy Yimebe Nunieh from Rivers State. She was also replaced after a few months by Prof Pondei before the current sole administrator, Mr Effiong Akwa.

  The sorry situation of the NDDC had attracted the attention of notable people and groups in the region and the agitation for a substantive board had increased in recent times. The seven days ultimatum issued by Tompolo which instantly received backings of militant groups in the region appears to have sent the signals that the constitution of the board can no longer be delayed. From all indications, Senator Akpabio has set machinery in motion to ensure the constitution of the board by July. The issue of who becomes Managing Director has thrown Bayelsa into political turmoil as politicians  especially from Bayelsa West and East in the state are in an intense slugfest to outwit one another.                               

Bayelsa not at ease

There is no dispute about the fact that in APC,  Sylva remains the highest political office holder in Bayelsa State as of today. His influence in the affairs of the ruling party both nationally and the state level remains highly significant and it is generally perceived that he would have a say in who gets appointed from Bayelsa. However, there are forces bent on stopping him. One of such forces is the group of traditional rulers from Ekeremor Local Government Area, Bayelsa West Senatorial District.

In a petition addressed to President Buhari titled “Lopsided Federal Appointments in Bayelsa State: Request by Traditional Rulers to correct the anomaly in favour of Ekeremor Local Government Area with the appointment of a substantive Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)”, they alleged Sylva to have ceded all political appointments to Bayelsa East Senatorial District where he hails from.

The monarchs who signed the petition are: HRM King Joel Ekeni Ibane, referred to as the Grand Pere of Iduwini Kingdom, HRH Simon Onniye, Amananowei of Tububou community, HRH Timi Odikeme Okere, Pere Foukeregha IV, Amananowei of Peretoru Federated Communities. Others are Chief Bedei Oyinmo, Amananowei of Egbemo-Angalabiri community, HRH Roman Deriabebe, Amananowei of Letugbene community and HRH Samuel Sapele, Amananowei of Ogbotobo community.

According to them, Ekeremor deserves to have the Managing Director in the person of Deyanbofa Dimaro from Peretorugbene while Dr Cairo Ojuogboh, a former member of NDDC IMC, from Delta State should be the Chairman.

The petitioners argued that Ekeremor which has the following flow stations and oil fields:Ogbotobo flow station, Tunu flow station, Benisede flow station, Clough Creek flow station, Bonga Oil field, EA oil field and Cambo oil field across 15 communities in the local government area deserved to be given the topmost job in the NDDC.

The traditional rulers listed nine federal political appointments including the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB), representative of Ministry of Petroluem in NCDMB, Federal Commissioner, Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Federal Commissioner, Federal Character Commission, Vice- Chancellor, Maritime University, Okerenkoko and Vice- Chancellor, Federal University Otuoke as positions Sylva had already ensured went to people from Bayelsa East.

“From the aforesaid, it clearly shows that Bayelsa West comprising Ekeremor and Sagbama LGAs are unfairly treated. The Ekeremor LGA is a major oil and gas producing area. Besides, it also provided substantial votes for the APC in the 2015 and 2019 general elections that gave APC victory at the polls,” they added.

The position of the traditional rulers has been supported by a group, South-South Elders Progressive Forum, (SSEPF).

SSEPF in a statement jointly signed by its chairman, Dr. Promise Okpolo and coordinator, community Relations, Chief Anderson Etiewo urged President Muhammadu Buhari to follow the path of statutory provisions in the appointment of a new Board to run affairs of the NDDC.

The group whose membership consists of elders cutting across states in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, expressed its confidence and support for strict adherence to the NDDC Establishment Act by Senator Akpabio, in the nomination of fresh candidates for the new Board expected to be inaugurated soon, with Dr. Cairo Ojougbo as chairman and Mr Deinyanbofa Dimaro, managing director, among others.

It said some grave errors were made in the appointment of the board which was not inaugurated, noting that Akpabio has taken steps to correct such anomalies by taking the right steps to ensure the NDDC Act was followed.

“The Act says the position of Chairman shall rotate in an alphabetical order amongst the nine states. The first Chairman of the Board was Chief Onyema Ugochukwu from Abia State who was succeeded by a candidate from Akwa Ibom State, and then Air Vice Marshal Larry koinyan (retd) from Bayelsa State.

“Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN) from Cross River State was the last to occupy the position of chairman from 2016 to 2019. From the list of states, it is now the turn of Delta State, which was illegally denied by political shenanigans who presented Dr. Pius Odubu from Edo State”, the SSPEF said.

It continued: “It is now the turn of Bayelsa State to produce the Managing Director. Instead, Dr. Bernard Ogumagba from Delta State was nominated and screened by the Senate. The same errors were committed in the case of the positions for EDFA and EDP which should go to different states other than the states from which they were nominated”

Also, a group, Niger Delta Oil and Gas-Producing Communities (NDOGPC), through its National Coordinator, Preye Olomu, alluded to the allegation of marginalisation accusing Sylva of relegating Bayelsa West and Central to the background.

Bayelsa East fights back

The people of Bayelsa East have however decided not to take the accusation and the attack on Sylva lightly. They insisted that there are undesirable elements in the state that are bent on causing disharmony in the state.

Sylva broke his silence on the raging issue through a statement through his Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs, Mr Julius Bokuru; he dispelled stories that he is having problems with Akpabio over the NDDC board issue.

“While he has the development of the Niger Delta at heart, he is not fixated on who becomes who in the formation of the NDDC board,” Bokuru said

Bayelsa Progressive Union(BPU) in a statement by its convener, Henry Mangari said Bayelsa East has benefitted least from NDDC in spite of the fact that all the local government areas in Bayelsa East, Ogbia, Nembe and Brass are all oil producing.

According to Mangari, the largest oil facilities, the Nembe Creek Trunkline and the Agip Oil terminal are located in Bayelsa State yet the area has benefitted least from the NDDC.

A former Commissioner said the people of Bayelsa East Senatorial District have been oppressed, marginalised and disrespected for too long by the powers that be in small Bayelsa State, despite their significant contributions to the revenues and physical growth of the state.

His words: “quite a number of people in Bayelsa State have become so used to the idea of relegating Bayelsa East Senatorial District to the background, in the scheme of things in the state, that if anything good comes to the area, they automatically become hostile and seek all possible avenues to destroy it”.

Chief Egba-Ologo warned against the ugly trend, stating that if allowed to continue, the actions of such individuals and groups would destroy the string of unity and brotherhood that bind Bayelsa people together.

He said it was very wrong for the group to accuse Chief Timipre Sylva of nominating only people from Bayelsa East into Federal appointments, adding that no other political leader from Bayelsa State has fixed people from other parts of the state in federal positions more that the Petroleum Minister, adding that the facts are available for anybody to cross-check.

The Niger Delta Peace Advocates (NDPA) through its national president, Mr. Dakumo Deingiyefa to counter claims by NDOGPC said the aim of the group is to tarnish the reputaion of Sylva.

“Because its soul aim is to paint the reputation of the Minister in bad light, the NDOGPC, forgot to mention that before any APC member from other Senatorial Districts in Bayelsa State got any Federal appointment, Senator Heineken Lokpibiri, an Ijaw son from Bayelsa West, was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari as Minister for State for Agriculture and Rural Development for four years.”

Presidency holds the ace

From all indications, the battle of wits is now in the Presidency where contending forces are battling one to push their nominees through. Names that have been mentioned for the position of Managing Director of the NDDC include Dr Samuel Ogbuku from Ogbia Local Government Area, Major General John Michael Ogidi from Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area,  Mr Fitzgerald Olorogun and Mr Denyabofa Dimaro, both from Ekeremor Local Government Area, Chief David Lyon from Southern Ijaw Local Government Area and Major- General Charles Ndiomu(rtd) from Sagbama Local Government Area. It is expected that by next month, the nominees for the new board would be announced and until then, the people shall wait and hope those that are appointed have the interest of the region at heart.