SAHARA REPORTERS
Some members of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) recently appointed by President Bola Tinubu have resumed duties in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, without any official inauguration, and have already started holding meetings, SaharaReporters has learnt.
SaharaReporters gathered that the board members led by Samuel Ogbuku (Managing Director/CEO –Bayelsa State), Boma Iyaye (Executive Director; Finance and Admin. –Rivers), Victor Antai (Executive Director, Projects – Akwa-Ibom), and Ifedayo Abegunde (Executive Director; Corporate Services – Ondo) held a meeting last Tuesday with the NDDC workers and fixed another one for next Tuesday despite not being officially inaugurated yet by the government.
“The yet-to-be-inaugurated board which is made up of the Managing Director and three Executive Directors have assumed duties at the NDDC head office in Port Harcourt. They held a meeting on Tuesday with the staff and another to be held next Tuesday,” a top source revealed to SaharaReporters on Saturday.
“They have given themselves brand new official cars despite no inauguration,” the source added.
On August 29, President Tinubu approved the appointment of a new board and management of the NDDC.
The President had disbanded the former board and management of the NDDC led by Lauretta Onochie.
The President subsequently approved the appointment of a new board and management of the NDDC, to be led by Chiedu Ebie from Delta State as the chairman.
The Senate and the House of Representatives have been at loggerheads over the screening and confirmation of the nominees.
The House of Representatives has halted the inauguration of the board and management of the commission screened and cleared by the Senate.
After the confirmation of the nominees, with Mr. Sam Ogboku as Managing Director and Mr. Chiedu Ibie as Chairman of the Board, the Senate transmitted a letter to the Presidency to inaugurate the appointees as a prelude to the resumption of their official engagements.
The appointees include Chiedu Ebie (Chairman –Delta), Samuel Ogbuku (Managing Director/CEO –Bayelsa), Boma Iyaye (Executive Director; Finance and Admin. –Rivers), Victor Antai (Executive Director, Projects – Akwa-Ibom), Ifedayo Abegunde (Executive Director; Corporate Services – Ondo), and Dimaro Denyanbofa (rtate representative –Bayelsa).
Others are Abasi Nkono (state representative – Akwa Ibom), Monday Igbuya (state representative –Delta), Tony Okocha (state representative – Rivers), Patrick Aisowieren (state representative – Edo), Kyrian Uchegbu (state representative –Imo), Victor Kolade Akinjo (state representative –Ondo), Dimgba Eruba (state representative –Abia) and Asu Oku Okang (state representative –Cross River) are others.
The three zonal members of the board are Nick Wende (zonal representative, North-Central), Namdas Abdulrazak (zonal representative, North-East, and Ibrahim Abdullahi Gobir (zonal representative, North-West).
