Itsekiri Interest Group, IIG, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint an Itsekiri person as the next substantive chairman of the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
The group in a letter to the President signed by its Chairman, Gbubemi Awala, and the Secretary, Weyinmi Yalaju, expressed concerns that the Itsekiri, who produce over 28 percent of the nation’s oil and gas, have not received a notable appointment under the present administration.
While commending the Federal Government’s efforts to tackle and investigate the alleged corruption in the NDDC, IIG warned against forgetting the foundational intentions of creating the Commission.
“The current situation concerning the appointment of a substantive board for the NDDC is of great concern to the Itsekiris of Warri Kingdom and the people of the Niger-Delta in general. Also fundamental to our interests is the choice of appointees being considered by your Excellency to fill these administrative vacancies on the board of the NDDC.
“Mr President, we wish to highlight that certain realities and peculiarities govern the appointment of persons to the board of the NDDC. The Chairmanship position of the Commission is a position that rotates among member states of the Niger Delta in a predefined order, as provided under the Commission’s Establishment Act.
“We wish neither to mince words nor prevaricate when we state that it is our firm belief that in making your decision of persons qualified to be appointed to the Board of the Commission as substantive members, a Deltan of Itsekiri origin should be the person considered foremost for the role of the Chairman.
“Mr President, the suggestion of ours that you nominate an Itsekiri for the said position does not stem from a belief that we are superior to other equally qualified persons from other ethnic nationalities within the Niger-Delta region of the country and Delta State in particular. It is because, according to the Establishing Act of the Commission, it is the turn of Delta State to produce the next Chairman of the Commission.
“Once again, our suggestion that the person of choice be an Itsekiri stems not from the fact that there are no other oil-producing ethnic groups in the state. It stems rather from the reality that the Itsekiris who produce over 28% of the nation’s oil and gas (in translation to Delta State, that means that we also produce well over 70% of the oil and gas in Delta State) have not received a notable appointment under your administration.”
Credit: Vanguard News Nigeria