Leaders of women groups in the Niger Delta region, have called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to constitute a new board for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with the current management team led by the managing director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku.
This is as they demanded upward review of the NDDC budget, insisting that the funds made available to the commission were no longer enough to cater for the development needs of the region.
Speaking on behalf of the women leaders at a press conference in Port Harcourt yesterday, founder of the Agape Birthright Foundation (ABF), Ann Kio Briggs, said constituting a new board for the NDDC will enable the agency to function optimally.
Briggs reminded Tinubu that the commission functioned for a major part of the last eight years without the board, pointing out that the absence of a board led to lack of accountability and widespread mismanagement.
She said: “As you may already be aware, we had an interactive meeting with Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, MD/CEO of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC and his management team.
Arising from this meeting it is expedient we hold this press conference before we all go back to our various states.
“In the course of the meeting, we expressed our acceptance of the appointment of Dr. Ogbuku and his management team by Mr. President, at the same time, we reminded Mr. President that for the major part of the past 8 years, NDDC functioned without a constituted Board which was not in the interest of the Niger Delta people for whom the agency was created.
“The absence of the Board led to lack of accountability and widespread mismanagement and we are concerned that if a Board is not quickly constituted, it may lead to a repeat and so we urged Mr. President to as a matter of urgency constitute the substantive Board with the current management team as led by Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, this will enable the agency to function optimally.”
The women expressed satisfaction that Ogbuku has the courage, capacity, commitment and understanding to change the narratives of the Niger Delta region.
Briggs said: “As mothers and women of the Niger Delta, we are satisfied with Dr. Ogbuku’s courage, capacity, commitment and understanding to change the narratives of the Niger Delta region, and as women who stand and continue to stand with the men, shoulder to shoulder in the struggle of the Niger Delta region for justice, equity, development, protection of the environment and accountability, as well as also supporting the federal government, we ask that you grant our request.
“It is a fact that most families in the Niger Delta are yet to recover from the devastating effects of the 2022 flood which ravaged the country, and even as we speak, another flood is just by the corner and there are fears; especially with the opening of the Ladgo Dam by the Cameroonian Government.
“We thank you for the appointment of a Niger Deltan as Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, and we use this opportunity to request that funds be released for adequate preparation by the minister and her team to help mitigate the effects of the flood on Nigerians, especially communities along the River Niger and the Niger Delta region.
“We thank Mr. President for listening to the yearnings of the Niger Delta people by appointing a Minister for the ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. We use this medium to express our expectation that the Ministry be properly and adequately funded to meet the developmental needs of the Niger Delta region.
“Also, we ask for an upward review of the budget of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, so that the agency and institutions of government can complement each other in developing the infrastructure, socio-economic and human capital development of the region.
“It is necessary to remind Mr. President that the report of the forensic audit under the previous government is unacceptably unavailable to the public.
“We cannot ignore the fact that the NDDC is owed a huge sum of money running into billions if not trillions, we mention this fact as the management of the NDDC cannot function without the funds it is due.
We commend Mr. President for returning the NDDC as an agency under the Presidency.”
