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From Fred Itua, Abuja
Senate has confirmed Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba as the new chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The chamber equally confirmed the nomination of Nsima Udo Ekere as the Managing Director.
The chamber, however, rejected the nominations of Olatokunbo Ajasin (Ondo), Donatus Eyinnah (Abia) and Igo Weli (Niger Delta) on the grounds that their nominations breached the NDDC Act which stipulated that only persons from oil producing communities could be appointed to such positions.
Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, during the debate on the report of the Senate Committee on NDDC, pointed out that Section 2(1)(b) of the NDDC Act stipulated that nominees for the board of the commission must be from communities where oil is produced.
Another nominee from Imo State, Senator Osita Izunaso, had written the Senate Committee to voluntarily reject his nomination on similar ground. An argument by Senator Sola Adeyeye (Osun) that the Act did not make it mandatory for nominees to come from oil bearing communities, but from oil producing states was rejected by majority of members.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on NDDC, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi informed the chamber that, in the case of Ajasin, people from the Ilaje area of the state protested against his nomination.
Two other nominees, Mahmoud Isa-Dutse and Abdul-Kazeem Bayero from the Federal Ministry of Finance and Federal Ministry of Environment were also confirmed.
But, the two would cease to be members of the NDDC board whenever they are transferred from their present ministries to other MDAs.
Other nominees confirmed were: Adjogbe Ajenakevwe Samuel, Mene Ienyie Derek, Frank Samuel George, Brambaifa Nelson and Sylvester Effefiom Nsa.
Others are Ogaga Ifowodo, Uwuilekhue Saturday, Harry Iboroma Dabibi, Benard Banfa, Yahaya Mohammed and Mustapha Dankadai.
Meanwhile, policemen attached to the National Assembly, yesterday, arrested six alleged oil thieves who specialise in siphoning diesel from the heavy duty generating sets at the Annex area of the Assembly complex.
They were alleged to have stolen 11 jerry cans of 25 litres each, and were caught at a point of loading inside a Gulf Volkswagen car brought for the purpose by an eagle-eyed security on night duty who alerted others and promptly arrested them. One of the oil thieves escaped arrest and was said to be on the run.
Sadly, however, two of the thieves are members of staff of the National Assembly, specifically, Sergeant-At-Arms Department; the remaining five were recruited from Tipper Garage, a nearby heavy truck park.
It was also found out that one of the two members of staff of the National Assembly, who led the gang, invited five others from the tipper garage, nearby, to accompany him on the act, and they entered the complex around 4.20 am yesterday day.
