The newly elected Vice Chairman, South-South, of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Dan Osi Orbih, Sunday, said the non-constitution of the board for the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, to oversee the affair of the commission is capable of encouraging fraudulent activities, just as he called on the Federal Government to suspend release of funds to the interventionist agency.
Orbih stated this when political leaders from the South South converged at Benin City, weekend at the palatial residence of late Chief Tony Anenih, former National leader and BoT Chairman of the PDP in Edo State to celebrate his emergence as the South-South national vice chairman of the party at a zonal congress recently held in Rivers State.
The occasion which attracted leaders of the party in the state and the South-South region included Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state and his Deputy, Philip Shaibu, Speaker of Edo state House of Assembly, Hon Marcus Onobun and other leaders.
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The vice chairman also commended Governor Godwin Obaseki’s last week victory at the Court of Appeal, noting that it’s a reaffirmation of the party’s victory at the September 19th 2020, governorship election in the state.
On the NDDC Orbih stated: “I condemn the failure of the Federal Government in not constituting the NDDC board in accordance with the Act. The NDDC is now a celebrated institution of fraud and scandals denying the Niger Delta people of accelerated development as envisaged in the Act. Until a proper board is inaugurated, the government should suspend all allocations to the commission.
“These are part of the problem the APC and Federal Government have created. How do you pick somebody from a state where you have a government? Have you ever taken pains to look at the act setting up the NDDC?
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“The nominations should come from the states but what we have is appointment for party’s patronage. The whole idea of the NDDC, considering the special need of the people and the fact that a lot of environmental damage goes with the drilling of oil from the commission, the government thought it wise that we have a commission that will address the special need of development in the region.
“In doing that, various state governments concerned are supposed to make inputs to the board. When Adams Oshiomhole was the governor of Edo State, the NDDC nomination was done by Adams Oshiomhole even though there was a PDP Federal Government. So you cannot play politics with the development of the region”.