N’Deltans Back NDDC Probe … As NYCN Berates Commission Over Poor Performance

Barely 24 hours after the  Presidency set up a panel to  probe the activities of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), stakeholders in the region have described the move as a step in the right direction.

Speaking in separate interviews with The Tide in Port Harcourt, a cross section of stakeholders said that the probe will help to sanitise the commission of corrupt practices, stressing that since the inception of the present management, the commission has been embroiled in crisis with nothing to show for it.

In his view, a Port Harcourt-based public relations practitioner, Mr Amabipi Martins described the probe as a welcome development.

Martins also said  that the move has satisfied the yearnings and aspiration of indigenes of the region who want the commission to be probed.

‘It is a matter of public interest. This present management has been embroiled in crisis, nothing seems to be happening. The Presidency has a good reason for setting up the probe and it is the right thing to do”.

He questioned the criteria used in the selection of the present crop of management of the NDDC, pointing out that those who did the selection only thought of their interest.

In his view, Pastor Sokari Soberekon, a Port Harcourt based cleric said that the proposed probe is in order as the commission has performed below expectation.

In his words, “NDDC has to be probed. They have performed below expectation”.

The chairman, National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) Opobo/Nkoro chapter, Dr Sofiri S. Peterside (Jnr) said that the chapter welcomes the probe of the NDDC by the Presidency.

According to him, the probe would unravel the massive corruption and  looting of funds being carried out at the NDDC and called on the committee to do a thorough work by exposing all the rot at the commission

President Goodluck Jonathan last Wednesday approved the constitution of a Presidential Committee to probe the operations of the NDDC.

A statement issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim, in Abuja, named Mr Steve Oronsaye as chairman of the committee, while Messrs Bamidele Aturu, and B. O. N. Oti, a representative of the Bureau for Public Procurement, and Sen. Bassey Ewa- Henshaw are members.

Other members are Mrs Koripamo-Agari and Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim, while Mr Raymond Brown of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, will serve as Secretary.

The statement said the committee is to assess and evaluate a sample inventory of some NDDC projects and evaluate the contractors’ pre-qualification process and the roles and relationship of the board, management and staff of the commission.

It is also to evaluate the procurement practices of the commission and its compliance with the letter and spirit of the Public Procurement Act.

Others are, to evaluate the institutionalisation of the orientation of personnel of the commission at all levels, in order to inform and manage expectations.

It is also to evaluate fund management and other variables, including checks and balances that can be improved upon so as to strengthen the commission.

The committee is also charged with evaluating compliance or otherwise, with the Public Service Rules and extant Civil Service Rules and Regulations.

The committee is expected to make recommendations to government in its bid to address institutional weaknesses and guide its constructive intervention on issues. The committee was given two weeks to conclude its assignment.

Meanwhile, the Committee set up by the Federal Government to look into the activities of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) yesterday in Abuja assured President Goodluck Jonathan that it  would carry out its assignment without fear or favour.

The Committee’s Chairman, Mr Stephen Oronsaye, gave this assurance in his acceptance remarks after being sworn in by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim.

“Members of the seven-member committee are no doubt aware of the challenging task ahead of us in this national assignment; but as people of integrity, I am confident that we shall carry out this national assignment in line with our terms of reference, without fear or favour,’’ Oronsaye said.

Oronsaye, who is the immediate past Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, noted that President Jonathan was eager to deliver on his promises to the Nigerian people.

In line with this, he said, “we shall neither leave any stone unturned nor any fact uncovered in our mission. The Jonathan administration wants quick, but well thought-out recommendations.

“We look forward to that challenge with great enthusiasm and, with God on our side, we shall deliver positive results.”

The committee chairman, who said he and the other members were humbled by the appointment, pointed out that both the presidential mandate and the committee’s goal were clear.

The committee’s mandate is “to carry out an objective assessment of the goings-on in the NDDC, using extant rules for measurement, and to come up with a report that is foolproof on the way forward.

“With the help of our Creator, we shall use the two weeks allotted to consult with stakeholders, assess our findings and brainstorm on the best approach to make the NDDC more effective and accountable,’’ he said.

While thanking President Jonathan for appointing the committee members “out of a mass of qualified Nigerians to look into the problems of the NNDC’’, Oronsaye pledged their resolve to honour the President’s trust and the confidence reposed in them.

In another development, National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) Opobo/Nkoro chapter in Rivers State has criticsed the Niger Delta Development Commission for abandoning the electricity projects initiated by the Commission at Opobo town.

The chairman of the Youth Council, Dr Sofiri Peters who said this in an interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt noted that all entreaties made by the youths body to get the contactor back to site proved abortive.

He said that apart from the abandoned electricity project, transformers dumped in Opobo Town by the commission were not functioning, describing the situation as a deliberate act by the commission to scheme the local government area out of its developmental programme.

While stressing that the youths would not hesitate to drag NDDC to court if the project is not completed, he regretted that Opobo./Nkoro should be subjected to such treatment in view of its contributions to the establishment of the commission.

According to him, the situation is a testimony to the fact that the commission is not impacting positively on the  people of the Niger Delta.

Dr Peterside said that, it was against this background that Opobo/Nkoro youths welcome the move by the presidency to probe the commission.

Meanwhile, the National Youth Council of Nigeria, Opobo/Nkoro chapter has urged the chairman of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Council, Hon Maclean Uranta to put in place an enduring legacy for youths in the area.

The Chairman, Dr Sofiri Peterside who said this in an interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt also stressed the need for moral reorientation of youths in the area.

He used the occasion to disclose plans by the council to commission its office next month.

Representative of the Speaker and Leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon Chidi Lloyd chatting with the Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms Arunma Oteh, at a three-day investors’ programme held at the Assembly Auditorium, yesterday.