PANDEF Makes Case For South-South Commission

The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has called on President Bola Tinubu to assent to the South-South Development Commission Bill to attract massive social and economic development to the oil-rich region.

The group said the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) should not be under the Ministry of Regional Development Commission.

It also demanded a reversal to its old name, the Oil Minerals Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC).

PANDEF made the call through a communiqué which its national spokesperson, Olorogun Obiuwevbi Ominimini, read at a news conference in Abuja on Monday

PANDEF, in the communiqué, called on President Tinubu, for the sake of justice, equity, and fair play, to appoint the next chief executive of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) from the Niger Delta region.

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The oil-rich region group noted that the challenges confronting people in the region could be effectively tackled if the various intervention policies and programmes are effectively monitored.

PANDEF argued that the assent to the South-South Development Commission Bill will promote broader regional development in the area to complement the work of the NDDC,

The group commended the governors of the South-South region for their untiring efforts in promoting the area’s sustainable development despite the challenging terrain and environmental circumstances that many face.

Part of the communiqué reads, “We observe with great concern that the Bill for establishing the South-South Development Commission (SSDC) which, after passage by the National Assembly was submitted at the same time as others to Mr President, is yet assented to.

“We subscribe to the desirability of having a development commission for all the six geographic zones of the country without exception.

“We therefore view this withholding of assent as a grave oversight or error, capable of creating a feeling of exclusion and dejection on the part of the people of the South-South.

“The non-assent of this bill leaves the South-South region orphaned within the broader context of regional development commissions.

“The non-signing of this law could hurt the present state of peace which exists in the Niger Delta and the favourable environment which it creates for the upsurge in the production of oil and gas in the country.

“PANDEF Board of Trustees, therefore, calls on Mr President to remedy the oversight which has resulted in the delay to assent to this bill and sign it without delay.

“It is only fair and just a manner of treating the South-South zone as bonafide citizens of this country who deserve not to be discriminated against.”