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South-South Elders Progressive Forum, SSEPF, has accused the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, of a ploy to mislead President Muhammadu Buhari in the constitution of a substantive Board for the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
The SSEPF, whose membership comprises elders cutting across States in the Niger Delta region, 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.
Section 12 (1) of the Act stipulates that: “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 SSEPF on Sunday, expressed concern that while the unambiguous provisions of Section 12 (1) had been duly adhered to in appointments into the Commission’s Board by previous administrations, Malami, for inexplicable reasons, was attempting to rob Peter to pay Paul by misleading President Buhari in his interpretation of the Act.
In the statement jointly signed by its Chairman, Dr. Promise Okpolo and Coordinator, Community Relations, Chief Anderson Etiewo, the South-south elders stated that 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.
While 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 against the rightful place of Bayelsa, a major oil producing State to take its turn for the position of managing director, more so, when the only indigene of the State, Chief Timi Alaibe, who at the time was the Executive Director, Finance & Administration, EDFA, only held the MD position for a period of two years from 2007 to 2009, to complete the tenure of the second substantive Board statutorily inaugurated for the Commission when the managing director, Mr. Emmanuel Agwariavwodo, who hails from Delta, resigned to contest the governorship election in his State.
It stressed that in line with the provisions of the NDDC Act on composition of a board for a tenure of four years in the first instance, 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.
