Youth Want Representative On NDDC Board 

Some Imo youth on Sunday appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint another representative of the state into the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) board.
The youth, who made the call in a separate interviews in Owerri, the Imo State capital, said the delay in appointing the representative into the board amounted to injustice.
Buhari had earlier appointed Sen. Osita Izunaso, who is not from the oil-producing area, a board member but he later resigned.
Mr Chigozie Ohiri, President, Niger Delta Youth Movement, Imo chapter, appealed to the president to appoint an indigene of the oil-producing area of Imo into the board.
Ohiri said that the appointment of a representative for Ohaji/Egbema or Oguta Local Government Area, the oil-producing area of the state, would give the people a sense of belonging.
He also complained that none of the N30 billion contracts the commission awarded in the state recently was located in the two local government areas.
“Our investigation shows that none of the 15 road contracts recently awarded by NDDC in Imo at the cost of over N30 billion is located in Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta.
“These are the two oil bearing local government areas of Imo.
”This is purely an abuse of NDDC intra-state sharing formula as enshrined in the act establishing the commission,’’ Ohiri said.
Mr Ozor Okorie said that it was necessary for the president to immediately appoint a representative from the oil-bearing part of the state into the board.
Okorie said the appointment would guarantee justice and fair play.
According to him, most communities in Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta local government areas have no electricity and potable water while the roads are bad and the school buildings dilapidated. “It is painful to note that a lot of communities in these areas lack basic infrastructure such as roads, hospitals, potable water and good school buildings.
“This neglect was part of the reasons why we embarked on a struggle before Gov. Rocha Okorocha brokered peace,’’ he said.