Fears of possible dissolution of the board and management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) have heightened less than four months after the new helmsman took charge of the affairs of the interventionist agency.
LEADERSHIP learnt that the twin issue of the ongoing squabbles between the board and the management as well as reported allegation of anti-party activities levelled against some top executives of the agency during the just concluded 2023 elections had ignited fears that the authorities in the Presidency and the incoming administration might wield the big stick against the new managers in the commission.
It was gathered that the smooth running of the agency had been hampered by infighting between the three-man management team and the board made up of the chairperson, nine representatives of the member states and zonal representatives.
Specifically, the recent $15billion memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the commission’s management and a United States-based outfit for the construction of a railway line linking the nine-member states had pitched the three-man management team headed by the managing director, Mr. Sam Ogbuku, against the board led by Ms. Lauretta Onochie.
Onochie had accused the Ogbuku-led board of acting unilaterally, adding that the deal was fraudulent and shady. Her assertion followed weeks of bickering as the management and board of the commission operated at cross-purposes.
She said in her statement, “My attention and that of the entire board have been drawn to a publication in some national dailies of the purported signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between a US firm, Atlanta Global Resources Inc. and NDDC, whose board I chair, for the construction of a mega rail project across the Niger Delta from Lagos to Calabar. This was done without my knowledge and without authorization, nor consent of the board. Everything about this shady MoU is illegal,” she said.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the internal squabble and rivalry had attracted the attention of the Presidency, which was said to be uncomfortable with the latest development in the commission.
It was learnt that the Presidency was reportedly irked that the board and management had lost focus and direction.
Besides, LEADERSHIP further gathered that the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had been inundated with reports that some top executives of the commission worked against him and All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25 presidential election.
Impeccable sources told LEADERSHIP that reports of the conduct of the 2023 elections by party leaders from member states of the commission indicted top executives of the agency.
Notable members of the board and management of the agency were alleged to have heavily funded and patronised the opposition apparently to ensure the defeat of APC in the presidential poll.
LEADERSHIP gathered that Tinubu was disturbed and unhappy about the reports.
Consequently, it was gathered that Ogbuku and other top executives of commission had virtually relocated to Abuja, to stave off any unsavory development.
Ogbuku was reported to have sought the support of the vice president-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima and members of the inner circle of the president-elect to preserve the status quo in the commission.
A key member of the Tinubu’s inner circle and notable APC chieftain, Chief Ayiri Emami, was reported to be one of the contacts of Ogbuku to secure the nod of the incoming administration to keep his job.
Sources told LEADERSHIP that Ogbuku has always been seen around Shetimma in Abuja, lately.
“Fears of possible dissolution of our board and management by the Presidency, especially by the incoming administration, are palpable in the commission (NDDC) now. Panic has gripped members of the board and management. The initial fear was about the report being peddled against members of our management team, especially the managing director and some members of the board – that they worked against the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, during the presidential election.
“They were accused of plotting the defeat of APC and that they mobilised and funded the opposition to humiliate the President-elect and APC. These reports were said to have been presented to the President-elect. So, there is fire on the mountain. The fear is that the President-elect may dissolve the board along with other boards of the federal agencies shortly after his assumption of office on May 29th, 2023.
“The fear is genuine and real and our managing director and other notable members of the management and board are virtually in Abuja to prevent any ugly occurrence. They are engaging the support of many VIPs, including the Vice-President-elect, Senator Kashim Shetimma, to plead for leniency and possible reprieve,” one of our sources said.
“We were battling the political issue before the war between the management and the board blew open. The chairman of our board, Ms. Lauretta Onochie, came up with damaging reports, indicting the management. She took the management to the cleaners. She has been everywhere in the media indicating the management over the $15 billion MoU the management signed with a US-based firm. She damaged the management in her various media statements, accusing the management of being dubious and fraudulent.”
The source further said that the conflict between the management and board had compounded the woes in the commission.
“Ít’s just like the story of someone, who is to be burnt but who, at the same time, sprayed himself with petrol. We have played into the hands of our enemies, who are working day and night to prevail on the new administration to dissolve the board of the commission,” added a board member, who craved anonymity.
Ogbuku, in a telephone chat with our correspondent on Sunday night, dismissed reports of fears over the dissolution of the board and management of the commission. He said the management and board had not committed any infraction to warrant such action, adding that the action only existed in the imagination of those peddling the “mindless rumour.”
Ogboku said there was no crisis between the management and board of the agency, adding that the commission under his management was progressively delivering its mandate to the people of the Niger Delta.
On the allegation that he and others in the board worked against APC and president-elect in the February 25 election, Ogbuku, described it as “wicked lies.”
He said he delivered his local government to APC in the presidential election, adding that, “the results are the public domain for verification.”
“I am an unrepentant party (APC) man and there was no way I would have worked against my party and President-elect. Please ignore the peddlers of this wicked story. It’s callous, inhuman and inherently wicked. It’s a plot for mischief and they have failed already,” he added.
