NDDC: Open letter to president Buhari

We write for ourselves and on behalf of the entire oil-producing communities of Abia State to commend Mr. President for efforts made to redress several instances of injustice that plagued the Nigerian nation for decades. Instances of such injustice include, but are not limited to, massive looting of our common patrimony by a few; the hitherto unresolved national question on the annulment of June12; infrastructural disequilibrium among the geopolitical zones; the settlement of long-standing entitlement of Biafrian soldiers, etc.

This open letter is aimed at attracting Mr. President’s attention to the prevailing deep-rooted injustice being perpetuated by a few privileged individuals in the corridors of power, who have turned the provisions of the law governing the appointment of the chief executives of the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) on its head. These individuals have exploited the flagrant breach of the NDDC Act to sustain their stranglehold on the running of the affairs of the commission through planted cronies.

The NDDC Act makes clear and unambiguous provisions for the appointment of the chairman, the managing director and the two executive directors in sections 4 and 12, respectively. While Section 4 of the act provides for the rotation of the office of the chairman in alphabetical order, Section 12(1) provides for the rotation of the offices of the managing director and two executive directors among member states in order of volume of production. For ease of reference, sections 4 and 12(1) of the act are here below reproduced. Section 4:

“The office of the Chairman shall rotate amongst the member states of the Commission in the following alphabetical order, (a) Abia State; (b)Akwa-lbom State; (c) Bayelsa State; (d) Cross River (e) Delta State (f) Edo State;(g) Imo State; (h) Ondo State; and (i) Rivers State.”

Section 12(1): “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 order of production.”

Except the provision of section 4, which has consistently since inception of the commission been adhered to in the appointment of the chairman, section 12, which governs the appointment of the managing directors and two executive directors, has been observed more in the breach. The avoidable controversy going on between different states of the region as to which state produces the next managing director and the two executive directors is a product of systemic and organised anarchy arising from sustained failure to comply with the clear provisions of the NDDC Act set out above. Considering the indisputable data on how these positions have been enjoyed in the past, we wonder the basis for the controversy generated by those who seek to maintain the status quo from which they have benefited to the detriment of the people of the Niger Delta, which the law seeks to protect.

As would be demonstrated shortly, it remains unconscionable for those member states who have taken more than their due turn in the above positions to instigate agitation for same positions when other member states are yet to take their turn as guaranteed by law. The abysmal performance of the commission and unmitigated corruption enveloping the commission today are traceable to the failure to comply with the law setting out the commission. It is also this act of non-compliance that has delivered the commission into the hands of a clique that has successfully appropriated to themselves the running of the affairs of the commission, to satisfy their personal greed, to the detriment of the vision in the establishment of the commission.

For the avoidance of doubt, we produce herewith, how appointments to the offices of the chairman, managing director and two executive directors have been enjoyed since inception.

It is clear from the above that Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom have in turn occupied the positions of the managing director. The offices of the two executive directors have also rotated among these four member states over the same period. It is also instructive to state that Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa have taken their turns as chairman of the commission, in accordance with the alphabetical rotational order as provided in section 4 of the Act.

Clearly from the table/data above, good conscience and obedience to law dictate that Ondo State, which is number five in order of quantum of oil production, should produce the next managing director, while states that have not enjoyed the executive director (project) and executive director (finance) should take their turns, and the states are Bayelsa that has not occupied the position of executive director (project) and Edo State, which is number six in quantum of oil production and has not hitherto enjoyed any of positions.

We are constrained to do this letter to Mr. President because we are worried that some individuals have elevated lawlessness to a right, uncaring that such infractions may affect the image of government as an institution that has no regard for its own laws. We are worried because we know Mr. President believes in equity, fairness, justice and rule of law. The law-breakers have had their way over the years, the ‘Next Level’ can no longer accommodate such perfidy. We, therefore, appeal to Mr. President to appoint the managing director and executive directors in strict compliance with the provisions of Section 12 of the NDDC Act.