The South-South Elders Progressive Forum (SSEPF) has accused the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, of a ploy to mislead President Muhammadu Buhari in the constitution of a substantive Board for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
SSEPF alleged that the AGF was creating confusion by misinterpreting to the Presidency, the clear provisions of Section 12 (1) of the NDDC Act 2000 as it relates to the appointment of the agency’s managing director.
The forum, in a statement by its Chairman, Dr. Promise Okpolo, and Coordinator, Community Relations, Anderson Etiewo, said while it was indisputably the turn of a nominee from Bayelsa State to occupy the position of managing director in the Board, the AGF was allegedly plotting to manipulate the position in favour of Edo State.
They warned that such a move will set the Niger Delta region on fire and urged the President to be wary of Malami’s alleged antics.
“No indigene of Bayelsa State with the huge quantum of oil it produces has been appointed afresh into a substantive board since the Commission’s inception, as Alaibe was only appointed to fill in the gap on a board that he was EDFA upon the resignation of the MD.”
The elders maintained that states like Delta, Rivers and Akwa Ibom, which have had their indigenes appointed as managing directors on a substantive board, had replacements from the same state if an MD left office before the completion of his four year tenure.
