NDDC: What Ijaw youths demand from National Assembly

By Paul Iyoghojie

Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) is urging the National Assembly to insist that only the recently confirmed board members of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by the Senate should defend the 2019/2020 NDDC budget and not the interim management committee loyal to the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Godswill Akpabio.

IJC said it decided to voice out its view on the NDDC matter due to the continued delay of inauguration of the new board members confirmed by the National Assembly by the Federal Government.

The National Assembly, about a month ago, confirmed 15 out of the 16 nominees forwarded by President Muhammedu Buhari for the NDDC Board.

Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, had after the confirmation, said the recent inauguration of an Interim Committee by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, was alien to law setting up the commission.

He said that with the confirmation of the board, the interim committee ceased to exist and that the interim committee would not be received by the National Assembly to defend the NDDC 2019/2020 budget.

Lawan also gave a standing order to the senate committee on NDDC to deal only with the new board members the senate had confirmed.

Speaking for the Ijaw Youth Counal at a news briefing, Its President, Eric Omare, said under section 18 of the NDDC act 2000, only the substantive board of the NDDC can defend or submit a budget to the National Assembly for consideration.

Omare said, “Section 18 of the NDDC establishment act, number 6 of 2000, as amended states that the board shall not later than September in each year, summit to the National Assembly through the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces the estimate of expenditures and income of the commission during the next succeeding year for approval.”

Omare said that instead of using the NDDC platform to develop the Niger Delta region, emphasis was being placed on political patronage saying that he regretted that despite the senate’s confirmation of a substance board for NDDC, the government was yet to inaugurate the board.

He said that the National Assembly had a duty to defend the law and as such it should insist that the Federal Government do the needful on the NDDC board members’ inauguration so as to move the Niger Delta region forward.