The activist said the list was a clear violation of several provisions of the NDDC establishment Act adding that the president was being misled by some selfish elements in furtherance of actions that encourage the breach of the constitution he swore an oath to protect and defend.
A Niger Delta Activist, Odudu Livinus Lokiri, has threatened to file a lawsuit to stop the confirmation of the 15-man nominees of members of board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) sent to the Nigerian Senate by President Muhammed Buhari.
The activist said the list was a clear violation of several provisions of the NDDC establishment Act adding that the president was being misled by some selfish elements in furtherance of actions that encourage the breach of the constitution he swore an oath to protect and defend.
Odudu stated this on Monday in a statement while reacting to the list read on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday, November 23, 2022.
He said people with questionable character were being rewarded with another round of juicy appointments instead of being reprimanded for their roles in pilfering the common patrimony of the Niger Delta people.
He said, “This statement has become necessary following the recent transmission of a 15-man list to the Nigerian senate for confirmation as members of the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by Mr President.
"You will recall that Mr President had withheld the inauguration of Dr Pius Odugbu-led board of NDDC that was confirmed by the Nigerian Senate on the 15th of November 2019 on the grounds that Mr President had ordered a forensic audit at the NDDC with a view to arresting the entrenched corruption and institutional decay that bedeviled the commission and derailed it from achieving its goal of maximising government intervention for the development of the oil producing states.
“I note with dismay that three years down the line, the forensic audit has not yielded any actionable report, or if it has yielded any, has not attracted the wrath of the law on any of the culprits despite the endemic corruption that characterised the commission over the years.
“Secondly, I am worried that the recent list sent to the senate by Mr President for confirmation has not followed the due process of the law as it has breached several provisions of the NDDC establishment act. I am jittery that our dear president is being misled by some selfish elements in furtherance of actions that encourage the breach of the constitution he swore an oath to protect and defend.
"For instance, Section 2(2b) of the NDDC act also provides in unambiguous terms, that the chairman and other members of the board shall be persons of proven integrity and ability. I regret that the list forwarded to the Senate by Mr President has a suspected murderer and cultist as Managing Director."
He said he would explore every legal option and obtain an injunction to stop all parties from ratifying Chief Samuel Ogbokwu as Chairman of NDDC adding that the process is a clear breach of the provision of the NDDC act.
He also called on the President to dissociate himself from people whose relevance had continued to decline due to their unbearable character deficiency.
Recall that there have reactions on the new list of nominees to be appointed to the Board of NDDC, which was read on the floor of the Senate as “not just another unkind display of insensitivity and unfairness to Board nominees who were confirmed by the Senate since 2019, but was also an unnecessary display of government’s broken promise.