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Taiye Odewale
The slight disagreement between President Muhamnadu Buhari and the Senate on NDDC’s board to be recognised seems a seed of discord that may tear their harmonious relationship apart soon.
President Buhari had, in exercise of one of his constitutional powers, forwarded to the Senate for confirmation appointments of a 16-member board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) via a letter dated 18th October, 2019. Specifically, President Buhari in the letter sought the Senate’s confirmation for Dr. Pius Odubu, former Edo State deputy governor, as chairman of the NDDC and 15 others as members of its board, among whom is the current acting managing director of the commission, Dr. Joy Yimebe Nunieh, from Rivers State.
Other nominees are Bernard O. Okumagba from Delta, as the proposed new managing director, Engr. Otobong Ndem (Akwa Ibom) as executive director, projects, and Maxwell Oko (Bayelsa) as executive director, finance and administration. They also include Prophet Jones Erue, representing Delta State, Chief Victor Ekhalor (Edo), Nwogu N. Nwogu (Abia), Theodore A. Allison (Bayelsa), Victor Antai (Akwa Ibom), Maurice Effiwatt (Cross River), Olugbenga Edema (Ondo), and Hon. Uchegbu Chidiebere Kyrian, representing Imo State.
The rest are Aisha Murtala Mohammed, from Kano State, representing North West, Shuaib Ardo Zubairu, from Adamawa, representing North East, and Ambassador Abdullahi M. Bage, from Nasarawa, representing North Central, on the board, respectively.
The President’s letter reads: “In accordance with the provision of Section 2(2)(a) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) (Establishment) Act, 2000, I write to forward, for confirmation by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the underlisted nominees for appointment into the NDDC board, to occupy the positions indicated against their names.”
President Buhari, in the letter, expressed hope that “the Senate will consider and confirm the nominees in the usual expeditious manner.”
Accordingly, the written request, which was read on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, October 22, 2019, by its President, Ahmad Lawan, was given expeditious consideration by the upper legislative chamber, which directed its standing committee on NDDC to carry out screening exercise on all the nominees and report back within a week.
Confirmation of Buhari’s nominees
The Senate’s standing committee headed by Senator Peter Nwaoboshi (PDP, Delta North), carried out the screening exercise on 15 out of the 16 nominees on Thursday, October 31, 2019, upon which the Senate confirmed their appointments on Tuesday, November 5, 2019, based on report tabled before it by the committee.
Strikingly, on the said date in plenary, while the Senate confirmed the appointments of the 15 nominees who appeared before its Committee on NDDC for screening, it rejected that of Dr. Joy Yimebe Nunieh, who, incidentally, is the acting managing director of NDDC but nominated in the appointments confirmation letter sent by President Buhari as a member of the board from Rivers State.
The rejection of the nominee from Rivers by the Senate at the committee of the whole was sequel to her refusal to appear before the Senate Committee on NDDC for screening as done by the 15 other nominees on Thursday, October 31, 2019.
Committee speaks
The chairman of the committee, Senator Nwaoboshi, had in his report presentation told the Senate that the nominee from Rivers State refused to appear for screening despite several communications made to her to that effect.
“We made all the required efforts to get across to her and reliably gathered that information sent to that effect was received by her without honouring it with her appearance,” he said.
Lawan’s bold stand
But dismissing the notion of ambiguity in the entire process at that time, the president of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, in his remarks said: “There is no ambiguity in this matter, President Buhari forwarded to us nominees for appointments into the board and as soon as we finish with the process, any other structure is vitiated.”
The Senate, therefore, confirmed the appointments of all except the current acting managing director of the commission, Dr. Joy Yimebe Nunieh, from Rivers State.
Budget without board
However, exactly three weeks after, the Senate, on Tuesday, November 26, 2019, received request from President Buhari for consideration of 2019/2020 NDDC budget without swearing into office the 15-member board screened and approved three weeks earlier. The request contained in a letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, read: “Pursuant to Section 18(1) of the Nigerian Delta Development Commission Establishment Act, I forward herewith 2019/2020 budget estimates of the Niger Delta Development Commission for the kind consideration and passage by the Senate.”
Lawan stoutly defends Senate
On Thursday, November 28, 2019, when the presidential request was forwarded to the Senate Standing Committee on NDDC, Lawan sounded more decisive on behalf of the Senate as far as which of the boards of the commission to be recognised, by ordering the Senator Peter Nwaoboshi-led committee to relate with the confirmed board by the Senate.
“The Senate Committee on NDDC should ensure that only the 15-member governing board forwarded to the Senate by Mr. President, screened and approved by us, should be related with as far the budget of the agency is concerned and other official matters,” he said.
He further directed the Senator Peter Nwaoboshi-led committee to expeditiously engage the recognised board on the budget proposals and report back in two weeks.
But while the two weeks given the committee to work on the proposed NDDC’s 2019/2020 budget estimates expired on Thursday, December 12, 2019, the Presidency had neither disbanded the Dr. Joy Yimebe Nunieh Interim Management Committee nor sworn into office the nominated and approved Pius Odubu-led management board.
•Odewale writes in from Port Harcourt
