- Advises FG to restore nominees screened by Senate and awaiting swearing-in.
- Also seeks urgent intervention in the current NSITF crisis.
As fraudulent controversies continues to trail the Niger Delta Development Commission, A coalition of 180 Civil Society Group identified as Civil Society Groups for Good Governance (CSGGG), has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to heed the Nigerian Senate’s advise to sack the management of the commission.
Recall CSONews24 reported on Thursday, that the Senate had asked president buhari to as a matter of urgency sack the Professor Kemebradikuom Pondei-led interim Management Committee of the NDDC over alleged financial recklessness.
The Senate also called for a new board of the NDDC to be constituted and the commission returned under the supervision of the presidency.
In a statement released in Abuja in Thursday and signed by its convener, Comrade Ogakwu Dominic, the CSGGG commended the Senate for its resolution.
The group urged the president to adopt the resolution of the Senate in order not to give the impression that the All Progressives Congress-led federal government condones corruption.
The group said: ”We note the resolutions of the Senate and we commend the federal legislators for their timely intervention.
”Their resolution is consistent with our stance that the current management of the NDDC is disbanded and a new board constituted for the commission.
”We call on the president to ensure those indicted in the recent NDDC financial mismanagement are prosecuted. This will serve as a deterrent to those who will be appointed to oversee the commission in future.
”We also urge the president to restore the nominees that were screened by the Senate and awaiting swearing-in, before their nomination was hijacked by desperate politicians hell-bent on milking the NDDC dry.
”The former management of the NDDC was on the right track with their policies before some politicians hijacked the agency. There is a need to go back to the status quo for peace and development to return to the Niger Delta.
”The NDDC should not be an ATM for desperate politicians who more concerned with their personal interest than the overall interest of the Niger Delta region.”
Similarly, the CSGGG called on the president to intervene in the current crisis rocking the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund.
The group asked the president to restore the former management of the NSITF, stating that they are innocent of the allegations against them.
”The recent expose by the House of Representatives committee probing the issues shows clearly that the minister of labour and productivity, Dr Chris Ngige is the one who should actually be sacked.
”The minister only used the former management of the NSITF as scapegoats when the bubble was about to burst concerning the abuse of his office.
”Mr President must wield the big stick and punish his appointees who are not on the same page with his administration while ensuring that those who are carrying out their duties diligently like the former management of the NSITF are not victimized for insisting on due process,” the group said.
Discussion about this post