Florence Uwaeme
Dr Joi Nunieh has assumed office as the new Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
Nuhieh assumed office after the official handing and taking over ceremony from former Acting Managing Director, Dr Akwagaga Enyia in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
Akwagaga was accused of corruption and illegal employment in the commission with Niger Delta Youth Bodies saying: “We advise that the auditing team should not be supervised by the interim team of bureaucrats who are themselves part of the systemic rot that has bedevilled the commission, rather the new board that was not part of the rot be inaugurated to carry out house cleaning exercise under an atmosphere of transparency that will discourage undue interference.
“The delay in confirming the newly composed Governing Board is counterproductive. If the purpose of the ordered audit is to get to the bottom of the NDDC’s failure, despite the huge funding it has enjoyed for almost 20 years, then the best approach is to have the probe done under new management. Obviously, it doesn’t make sense to carry out the ordered audit under the interim management headed by Dr Nkwangaga Lelegima.
“Naysayers can say all they like about President Buhari, we’ll continue to appreciate him as a leader, who has the courage to beam the searchlight into some of the darkest recesses of our national life. He is straightening some of our crooked past and this has positioned his administration in good stead.
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“However, if the current interim management of the NDDC is allowed to supervise the forensic audit, the Niger Delta Youth Vanguard, Coalition of Niger Delta Ex-Militants would mobilize its ranks and files and other Pan-Niger Delta groups for a mass action to shut down NDDC”.
Nuhieh assured the region that the commission will impact on rural communities spread across the Niger Delta region under her watch.
She gave the assurance during the ceremony, adding that her team would pursue the developmental programme of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Recall that the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday inaugurated a committee charged with overseeing the activities of the commission during the period of the forensic audit ordered by President Buhari.
Nunieh appreciation President Buhari for the opportunity given to the Committee to serve, assuring that the team will not disappoint the people of the Niger Delta region.
“The Committee will take the NDDC to the next level and we will not fail the people of the Niger Delta. The youths that came to the NDDC headquarters to welcome us were very positive. We cannot afford to fail the people.
“We are here because Mr. President expects that the forensic audit should be done properly from 2001 to date. There will be no compromise and the people will know that a new team is here to work.”
“We will reach out to all the villages because rural development is very important to us”, she assured.
