Okowa labels presidency’s refusal to constitute NDDC board as deprivation of S’South

By MICHAEL OLADAPO, Asaba

Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa on Monday described the inability of the Presidency to constitute the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as deprivation of the South-South Region.

Speaking yesterday in Government House, Asaba during a Media Interaction, Okowa expressed displeasure over the slow action of the Presidency to constitute the Board for the commission.

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He recalled that the Governor of states in the NDDC has vehemently made their position during a two year period with which the commission has been without aboard.

Okowa said, “We have made our position clear as South-South Governors. We have spoken about how we feel and it is very unfortunate that where we are at the moment, it ought not to be so. We have not had a proper board for over two years now and that is not right.

“Whatever situation the NDDC are operating with now is unknown to the law of this country”.

He noted that NDDC has been regulated on irregularities as States have been deprived of its statutory representation due to the inability of the Presidency to constitute a board to run the affairs of the Commission.

“The more important thing is that states are now being deprived of the opportunity of having their representative at the board because behind the Managing Director and the executive, you have state representatives who are able to understand that the budget of the NDDC is run in the way it ought to run, with what is due to each state, getting to them.

“That has not been the situation for quite some time, that is why we have always complained. We were told by the Presidency that as soon as the forensic report was submitted that the board will be constituted.”

He then urged the Presidency to make haste in constituting the board based on the law governing the commission.

“Unfortunately, the report has been submitted after some few months and we are still awaiting the board to be constituted.

“I feel that no matter what is going on, there is a law and there is a need for Federal Government to down what is right.

“The provision in the law ensures that there is equity and level of integrity and ensure that no state is short-changed.

“At the moment, we do not have any information as to when the board will be constituted. We hope that Mr President will soon constitute the board because he is the only one that can constitute the board,” he declared.

He decried the inability of the State Government to pay salaries in recent times saying that what we have been receiving from Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) is lower than what we expect even when the oil prices are up.

While he called for critical insight into the break Federal Government 2022 budget, he lamented the current economic status of the country.

He further charged FG to re-strategize its economic plans to change the fortunes of the country.

“There is a problem because the economy is not in the best of state. We are a poor Nation. As of today, we are not a rich Nation. We are just struggling through and there are some challenges.

“There are lots of complexity in the economy of this Nation. The situation is not the best for Nigeria. Unfortunately, on many occasions, we do not sit back to examine the Federal budget. If you examine the Federal budget and look into the issues of our borrowings at the moment as a Nation, every Nigerian would be very worried.

“The Federal Government budget for 2022 is a little over N 16 trillion. Of that N16 trillion, N5 trillion is for capital expenditure while N6. 26 trillion of the budget is supposed to be borrowed. Then we are spending N5 trillion on capital expenditure, the implications is that without borrowing, we cannot execute a singular capital project,” he asserted. (Daily Independent)