A socio- political organization known as South-South Youth Patriotic Movement (SSYPAM) has condemned any appointment due for Chief Bassey Dan Abia as MD/CEO of NNDC.
In a communiqué signed by the (SSYPAM’s) National President, Comrade Chinagorom Nwankwo, the Secretary, G. Imoh John and the National Organizing Secretary, Comrade Adokiye Mujiton has it that Chief Bassey Dan Abia had served as the Akwa Ibom State Representative on the Board of NDDC for more than seven years and six months from May 2004 July 2011, spanning thorough two terms of two Boards, pointing out that by the provision of Section 3 Sub-Section 1 of NDDC’s Act, Chief Bassey Dan Abia is not eligible to serve on the board again.
‘This morning we’re here to make our stand on issues of our region, something that has to do with the benefit of the Niger Delta people’, adding that Dan Abia was reappointed for the second time during Larry Konya’s tenure, as the Board is known for its infamous intense boardroom rivalry, corruption and other misdemeanors that made the Board to spend more than half of its time in settling quarrels and feuds, rather than focusing on the development of the region”.
The communiqué further explained that the Board was met for more than 25 times one problem or the other which led to its final dissolution, as was recommended by the Presidential Panel to investigate the incessant problem among the Board members during Chief Abia’s tenure.
‘It is a known fact that Chief Bassey Dan Abia contributed to the known performance of the Board which led to the voluntary resignation of His Excellency, the Governor of Kano State ( Rabiu Kwankwaso) in order not to be guilty of the principles of collective responsibility and shared leadership. One will therefore wonder what Dan Abia will have to offer in the new NDDC Board. Chief Dan Abia’s nomination for appointment as MD of NDDC, for equity and fairness, if Dan is being nominated for the Board of NDDC it means that all members of the sacked board led by Larry Konya and Chibuzor Ugwuoha should also be retained because they committed the same crime”.
‘If this is not feasible; President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan should discard the idea completely because Part (4) Section 12c clearly provides for the appointment of the MD/CEO by the President, Commander -in-Chief devoid and confirmed by the Senate in consultation with House of Representatives’, maintaining that ‘this body therefore enjoins Mr. President to discharge this important responsibility without relaxation’, while urging the President to consider an insider ( a technocrat) with good knowledge of the system whose requirement conforms to the Act for the position of the MD/CEO.
‘We also believe once an insider is given the opportunity to serve, the era of studying the system before carrying out its responsibility which also attracts political influence will be a thing of the past. We pray and urge all Niger Deltans to rise and say no to corrupt persons as to save our fatherland land from collapse because the future of our region depends on the happenings today’, Nwankwo stressed.
‘From time past, we known that the President had been nominating people from oil companies to head NDDC. Oil company is different from NDDC, as oil company pays to Federal Government, while Federal Government uses that payment to fund NDDC as intervention ministry to look at the immediate problems of Niger Delta people’, he advised.
When asked whether the position of MD is rotational, Comrade Nwankwo argued that the positions of MD, EDSA and EDP were meant for Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta and Akwa Ibom States, saying that the position of the chairman is for the nine oil producing states. On whether there would be no political influence or coloration on the position of MD, Comrade Nwankwo explained that there would be less political influence if such MD came from the civil service, having gone through all the levels. When asked what will be the position of SSYPAM if the appointment of Abia took place, he said the SSYPAM will embark on peaceful demonstration, as Mr. President will hear the cry of his children. On where the insider was coming from, the Comrade opined that: ‘ We know that MD’s position was going to Akwa Ibom State, stating that ‘a man who is already in the House knows the problem of the House’, as Mr. President would fail if NDDC failed, admitting that NDDC had performed low in the past 12 years, considering the amount of money given to them.
Also speaking were Comrades Mujiton, National President, Rivers State Youth Federation and Comrade G. Imoh, publicity Secretary, SSYPAM: Mujiton Opined that they did not want to fold their hands as the anomalies continue to play, saying that Mr. President should disregard those projecting Chief Dan Abia , as he (Abia) has failed. Meanwhile John said that the said Abia lacked the flavor to lead the NDDC.
