The Senate was on Tuesday divided over the confirmation of nominees from President Muhammadu Buhari into the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
It would be recalled that the President communicated to the Senate on Wednesday 28th September 2016 wherein he requested that the Senate do confirm the nomination of former Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba CON as Chairman, Nsima Udo Ekere as Managing Director and 17 others as Executive Directors and Members of the NDDC Board.
Presenting the report on the floor of the Senate, the Chairman, Senate Committee on the Niger Delta, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi said his committee conducted an open screening for the nominees on Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th October and was guided by the Act establishing the NDDC and other relevant laws.
He however stated that the nominee from Imo State, Senator Osita Bonaventure Izunaso wrote a letter to the committee to decline his nomination.
According to the report, Senator Osita submitted that he would not accept the offer of President Buhari as he was not from the oil producing area, but from Orlu West LGA of Imo State.
The committee chairman also explained that the nominee from Abia State, Hon. Donatus Enyinnah and that of Ondo State, Olatokunbo Ayotunde Ajasin could not scale through as the committee received litany of petitions from their respective states.
According to the chairman, the duo are not indigenes of oil producing areas of their states and their nominations negate section 2, subsection 1(b) of the NDDC Act of 2000. Another nominee, Mr. Igo Weli was not screened as the committee could not be convinced over his constituency.
The letter from President Buhari had nominated Mr. Igo to represent Niger Delta in the Commission but the committee argued that all states from the Niger Delta have been adequately represented and would amount to duplication of nomination.
Some Senators however objected to the recommendations of the committee that the Senate do reject the nominees from Abia, Ondo and that of Niger Delta.
The Senate Chief Whip, Senator Olusola Adeyeye and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano Central ) argued that the Senate should not disqualify the nominees on the basis of their local government of origin as the law did not specifically define what it means by ‘oil producing area’.
According to them, the law says ‘oil producing area’ and not Oil Producing Local Government Area; therefore anyone from the state where oil is produced is qualified to be appointed into the NDDC Board.
Senator Eyinanya Abaribe (Abia South), Senator Hope Uzodima (Imo West) and Senator Paulker Emmanuel (Bayelsa Central) however stood their grounds in firm support of the recommendations of the committee.
After a heated debate, the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki threw the matter for voice vote and the report of the Niger Delta Committee was adopted.
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