NDDC: Sole Admin’s Appointment Not Illegal, Akpabio Tells NCND

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has explained that the appointment of a sole administrator for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by President Muhamamadu Buhari was not illegal as speculated in some quarters.
Akpabio, who stated this at the opening ceremony of the 4th meeting of the National Council on Niger Delta (NCND), last Friday, in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, insisted that it was wrong to refer to a Presidential appointment as illegal.
He also explained that, “even the first executive director of finance and administration acted as sole administrator of NDDC at various times. We have also had a sole administrator from Rivers State in the person of Ibim Semenitari. We have had one from Cross River State, as well as Mrs. Enya from Bayelsa while awaiting the confirmation of a board.”
He added, “It’s not correct that the NDDC has done well, they have not done well, even during my time as governor they didn’t do well.
“But the appointment of a sole administrator for the NDDC today cannot be regarded as illegality.”
According to the minister, there was need to look at the developmental challenges of the region before talking about the board, maintaining that the board was just a conglomeration of appointees from politicians.
Akpabio disclosed that “governors from the Niger Delta region had told the President that they wanted a forensic audit of the NDDC before going ahead to bring on a board.”
He further disclosed that the idea of interim management was to oversee the audit so that the result would be given to the new board for implementation, and assured that a new board of NDDC was still coming.
“But the question is, after 19 years of board, what have we got to show?
“Today, Buhari realised that there was need to reposition the NDDC to meet the yearnings and aspirations of people in the region, and instituted a forensic audit which is different from statutory audit.
“The forensic audit is aimed at asking questions about: why are we here? Where we are now is it where we are supposed to be? Otherwise, the NDDC was dripping to a total collapse.
“We believe strongly that at the end of that exercise, we will come up with a workable recommendation, nobody is going to be a permanent minister or President but let us create a structure for posterity to judge us. This is where I think the President should be commended.”
The minister decried the lack of harmony between development agencies and the Niger Delta state governments.