Former Federal Commissioner for Information, Chief Edwin Clark, has urged President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to review the Act establishing the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
He asked that under the review, three states namely: Abia, Imo and Ondo should be removed from the commission.
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He said the inclusion of these States in the 2000 Niger Delta Development (NDDC) Act, was an aberration which should be corrected.
Clark said this at a media briefing in Abuja on Tuesday.
His address was titled: Request to President Bola Ahmad Tinubu to amend the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) law to remove the non-Niger Delta oil-producing states of Abia, Imo, and Ondo from the NDDC Act 2000.
The former elder statesman suggested that a separate entity should be created for the oil-producing states of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Edo, and Akwa Ibom.
He said, “I have taken it as my obligation to inform the Government and people of Nigeria of the real situation leading to the establishment of NDDC, but regrettably and sorrowfully today, I am the oldest stakeholder in the NDDC in the entire Niger Delta under our group, the South-South Peoples Conference (SSOPEC). “
He quoted an extract from the communiqué of one of the earliest meetings of their organization, SSOPEC, held at the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) in Effurun, Warri Delta State, which was ably attended by prominent personalities and governors on October 9, 1999.
Quoting from the document, he said, “The meeting, which was held to hear the report of the 13-man SSOPEC delegation to Abuja in August to meet with the then Mr. President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and members of the National Assembly concerning amendments to the presidential bill on the establishment of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and to propose further amendments necessary to protect the interests of the Niger Delta people, was presided over by the SSOPEC Chairman, HRM Pere (Dr.) H.J.R. Dappa-Biriye, and supported by the Deputy Chairman of SSOPEC, Chief E.K. Clark.
“The meeting also registered the attendance of His Excellency Obong Victor Attah, the then Executive Governor of Akwa-Ibom State, Government Representatives of the South-South States, Traditional Rulers and Chiefs, Opinion Leaders, Women Groups, Youth, and Non-Governmental Organizations.”.
He said further, “We fully participated when President Obasanjo, the initiator of the Bill, invited us: HRM (Dr. H.J.R. Dappa-Biriye (OON,JP), my humble self, and Sen. Fred Brume as leaders, and we went with some other leaders of the South-South Peoples Conference for dinner at Aso Rock on August 22, 2000, and during that interaction with Mr. President, we went through the drafted Bill of NNDDC,which he said he will later submit to the Attorney General of the Federation for necessary action.”
He recalled that ex-president Obasanjo had informed them that Northerners were opposed to the establishment of the NDDC; instead, they also demanded the Shiroro Dam Commission.
He said, “President Obasanjo advised that we should accept the three non-Niger Delta oil-producing states of Abia, Imo, and Ondo State in order to have the added votes of the south-east and south-west legislators for the bill to succeed.
“I also asked him if there is oil in Sokoto, and if so, will Sokoto be part of the Niger Delta? And we moved on”.
“Thereafter, we met the Representatives of the three (3) States at the National Assembly and they were very happy. We discussed the strategy that will contribute to the passing of the NDDC Bill and we did the lobbying together.
“Some vicious and unpatriotic Nigerians saw the establishment of the NDDC as a denial or deprivation of the Nigerians from enjoying the wealth that accrues from the oil resources in the Niger Delta.
“It is noted that during the National Conference of 2014, we recommended the setting up of the North East Development Commission to rebuild the war-devastated areas of the North East as it was done in Germany and the rest of Europe called the Marshall Plan after the Second World War of 1939–1945.
“After the agreement with the members of the National Assembly from the three (3) Southern States, the joint committee went round to lobby National Assembly Members including the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate and Chairman of Appropriation Committee when President Obasanjo refused to sign his own Executive Bill which he presented to the National Assembly.
“The National Assembly used their constitutional power and after thirty (30) days, they signed the Bill into law.’
Chief Clark further stated that the NDDC Establishment Act 2000 signed by the then Senate President Chuba Okadigbo outlined the functions of the Nine States and who should be the Executive Management.
“One should bear in mind that the addition of Ondo, Imo and Abia was a political aberration. However, Cross Rivers State was in the NDDC Act, then Bakassi was removed to Cameroon and Littoral Oil dispensation removed Wells in the High Seas.
“The final blow came with Akwa-Ibom State winning the ownership of the Oil wells on the Land in the Supreme Court. This has resulted in Cross Rivers being a zero contributor to the NDDC. I will like to refer to the relevant sections of the Act in my write up; Part I Section 4 of the NDDC Act states ‘The office of the Chairman shall rotate amongst the member states of the Commission in the following alphabetical order; Abia State, Akwa-Ibom State, Bayelsa State, Cross-River State, Delta State, Edo State, Imo State, Ondo State and Rivers State’
“Part II Section 7 Sub-Section 2 ‘in exercising its functions and powers under this section, the Commission shall have regard to the varied and specific contributions of each member state of the commission’.
“Part IV Section 12 Sub-Section 1 ‘there shall be for the commission, a managing director, and the Executive Directors who shall be indigenes of oil producing areas starting with the member states of the Commission with the highest production quantum of oil and shall rotate amongst member states in the order of production’.
“It is true that the law provided for the rotation of the Executive positions among the states based on the quantity of production but did not mention the sequence of rotation among the states.
“But the federal government decided that these Executive positions only rotate among the four majorities of oil producing states i.e. Delta, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers States based on equity, fair-play and justice because it will be unreasonable and chaotic to extend it to the minority oil producing states including Abia, Cross-River, Edo, Imo and Ondo.
“For instance, whereby, Imo is producing 1.02% of the total oil production by the nine states.”
Explaining further, he said under the rotation, the Chairmanship in accordance with the Act started with Abia State where Chief Onyema Ogochukwu became the pioneer chairman.
“Thereafter, he was replaced by a representative from Akwa-Ibom State in person of Amb. Sam Edem. Bayelsa State took over from Akwa-Ibom State when Air Commodore Larry Koiyan was appointed. “Cross-River took over after Bayelsa State and Sen. Bassey Ewa Henshaw was appointed and he did not finish his term when he was removed by the succeeding Federal Government and was replaced by Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egba.
“After Cross River state, it will now the turn of Delta state, but what happened? Adams Oshiomhole recommended Pius Odubu, his former Deputy Governor when it was not yet the turn of Edo state to produce the Commission’s Chairman against the law established the Commission.
Explaining further he said, later there were accusations and counter-accusations between the Interim Management Committee and the National Assembly where some of them were callously insulted that we the leaders of the Niger Delta looted NDDC treasury by award of contracts which were paid for, and never completed.
“We the leaders and stakeholders of NDDC vowed at the time that we will no longer allow the corruption and the mess that characterized the Commission.
“The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) under my leadership set up a committee to secretly and discreetly investigate the happenings in the NDDC.
“Incidentally, the NDDC now reports to the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs instead of the Presidency via the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, but the transfer of the NDDC to the Ministry of Niger Delta has not been legalized.
He accused the politicians from the Niger Delta including Sen. Adams Oshiomhole, Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege, Rt. Hon Rotimi Amaechi and Chief Timipre Sylva of Appropriation of the Board positions amongst themselves.
He however, said that later the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs now Senate President, Sen. Godswill Akpabio intervened and set up an interim committee and another set of illegal sole administrators, who held that position alone and single handedly operated the budget of the Commission amounting to billions of Naira for a period of about two years.
“Again, a new board was put up by the same politicians, appointing the Managing Director from Bayelsa State and the Executive Director for Finance from Edo State, Maj. Gen Charles Arhiavbere and Executive Director for Project from Owo in Ondo State in the person of Charles Ogunmola and Chairmanship now reverted to Delta State with the appointment of Mrs. Lauretta Onochie and also created a position of Executive Director for Cooperate Services even though not provided for in the NDDC Act and appointed Ifedayo Adegunde from Ondo State.
“The President Tinubu’s Government at last decided to correct the position and a new Board has now been set up in accordance with the NDDC Act.
“I repeat, by convention and understanding, the Federal Government has conveniently restricted the management position to the four (4) major oil producing states i.e. Delta State, Akwa-Ibom State, Bayelsa State and Rivers State.
“The crisis has not died down because these three (3) non-Niger Delta States of Abia, Imo and Ondo are insisting that they must occupy the post of Managing Director and the two (2) Executive Director for finance and Executive Director for Project.
His grouse is that Imo State oil producing community in a publication in a national daily had asked a court to stop the inauguration of Board members.