The Senate has confirmed fifteen out of the sixteen nominees forwarded by President Muhammadu Buhari to the National Assembly for confirmation as board members of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The
nominees confirmed by the Senate are: Dr. Pius Odubu (Edo), Chairman;
Bernard Okumagba (Delta), Managing Director; Engr. Otobong Ndem
(Akwa-Ibom), Executive Director (Projects); Maxwell Oko (Bayelsa),
Executive Director, Finance and Admin; Jones Erue (Delta), and Chief
Victor Ekhator (Edo).
Others
are: Nwogu N. Nwogu (Abia), Theordore Allison (Bayelsa), Victor Antai
(Akwa-Ibom), Maurice Effiwatt (Cross River), Olugbenga Edema (Ondo),
Hon. Uchegbu Chidiebere Kyrian (Imo), Aisha Murtala Muhammed (Kano),
Shuaibu Ardo Zubairu (Adamawa), and Ambassador Abdullahi Bage
(Nasarawa).
The
upper chamber however rejected the nomination of Dr. Joy Yimebe
Nunieh, as nominee representing Rivers State on the board.
Chairman,
Senate Committee on NDDC, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, in his
presentation of the committee’s report, explained that the
committee sent an invitation to the nominee twice to attend the
screening exercise last week.
The
lawmaker, however, told his colleagues on the floor that the nominee
on both occasions refused to appear before the panel for screening.
Nwaoboshi
drew the attention of the upper chamber to the three-man Interim
Management Committee to oversee the affairs of the Niger Delta
Development Commission (NDDC).
According
to him, the nominee, Dr. Joy Yimebe Nunieh is Acting Managing
Director of the Interim Committee.
The
committee has Dr. Cairo Ojougboh as Acting Executive Director,
Projects and Chief Ibanga Bassey Etang as the Acting Executive
Director, Finance and Administration.
The
upper chamber, in a committee of the whole, thereafter unanimously
rejected the nomination of Nunieh as nominee representing Rivers
State over his refusal to appear before the NDDC panel for screening.
In
his remarks, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, while speaking on the
existence of the interim committee to oversee the NDDC said, “I
think there’s no ambiguity in this matter. Mr. President sent to
the Senate his request for us to confirm his nominees.
“As
soon as they (nominees) are confirmed, I’m sure any other structure
that exists now is vitiated.
“I
don’t think we have anything to worry about, because this is
something that is clearly established by the law.”
Lawan
tasked the Senate Committee on NDDC on the need to properly oversight
the commission as soon as the new board takes over the management of
the agency.
“The
NDDC is a special case. We recall that the President had cause to ask
for a total probe of what happened with the finances of the NDDC.
“We
are supposed to continually oversight wherever public funds are put
out for the development of the country,” Lawan added.
No comments:
Post a Comment