Mixed reactions have trailed the dissolution of the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the sack of its managing director, Mr Chibuzor Ugwuoha.
President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday approved the implementation of a recommendation of the Steve Oronsaye-led panel for the board to be dissolved and Ugwuoha relieved of his job.
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The board, which was headed by Air Vice Marshal Larry Koinyan (rtd), was constituted by the president in 2009.
Right from its inception, the board was enmeshed in a series of crisis bordering on allegations of mismanagement of funds by its key members.
The crisis led to a faceoff between the board chair and the managing director. After all efforts to reconcile the parties failed, the former secretary to the government of the federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, queried Ugwuoha and some executive directors of the board.
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Investigations by LEADERSHIP showed that, shortly after the submission of the report of the Oronsaye panel to the presidency, fear gripped top officers of the commission who were fingered in shoddy deals.
The panel’s report had indicted Ugwuoha and some executive directors of the board over illegal transactions which amounted to $80 million.
But there seems to be sharp disagreement by people of the region over government’s dissolution of the board.
The president of the South-South Youth Movement for Non-violence (SSYMN), Mr. Clifford Ndubisi, said the people of the region did not support Ugwuoha’s removal.
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Ndubisi argued that many youths in the region have been empowered by the former NDDC boss through the commission’s youth empowerment programme.
He said, “The recommendation of the committee and subsequent removal of Ugwuoha is not the wish of the people of the Niger Delta. We are witnesses to how the removal of Ambassador Sam Edem affected the NDDC.
“I make bold to say that the dissolution of the board and removal of the managing director will negatively affect the growth of the commission and the Niger Delta region.”
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However, the chancellor of the International Society for Social Justice and Human Rights (ISSJHR), Chief Jackson Omenazu, commended the federal government for dissolving the board. He alleged that the level of corruption in the commission prevented the interventionist agency from achieving its objectives in the region.
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Also, the deputy president, Niger Delta Integrity Group (NDIG), Mr.Idumange John, said the former managing director of the NDDC consistently violated parts of the Act establishing the commission.
He listed some of the violations to include: award of contracts without due process, non-implementation of the decisions of the board, undue interference with the statutory functions of state representatives. He said that Ugwuoha used the unit as an excuse to perpetrate heinous financial crimes in the commission.
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The publicity secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Rivers State, Mr. Jerry Needam, for his part, described the dissolution of the board as a development that was long overdue.
He said, “It is a welcome development. In fact, it was long overdue. You will recall that every segment in the Niger Delta region rose against that board. That board was a shame to Nigerians and a shame to the people of Niger Delta. We as a party were part of those who were calling for their heads.”
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