A socio-political group, Niger Delta Patriots (NDP) has appealed to the Speaker of House of Representatives, Hon Tajudeen Abbas to consider picking a person from Niger Delta region of Ondo State as the Chairman of the House Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
This appeal was contained in a letter to the Speaker signed by the Coordinator and its Secretary, Dr Timi Doubra-Tom and Prince Adeola Mebawondun respectively, who lamented over the marginalisation of the Niger Delta areas on the appointment of the Chairman of the committee on NDDC.
According to the group, people with the knowledge of the mandate area have been denied the appointment noting that the people of Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency in Ondo State have been denied of their right place in the NDDC since the advent of this political dispensation.
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The group stated in its letter that “As you are aware, the NDDC was created by an act of Parliament in the year 2000 as an intervention agency, established to offer a lasting solution to the socio-economic difficulties of the Niger Delta region and to facilitate the rapid and sustainable development of the Niger Delta into a region that is economically prosperous, socially stable, ecologically regenerative and politically stable which is the primary objective of government is setting up the Commission”
They noted that the objectives can not be achieved because of the appointment of someone outside the oil producing areas as the Chairman of the Committee on NDDC
The letter read “In all sincerity, the development in the Niger Delta region cannot be said to be commensurable with the accrued resources available to the agency from the State since inception in year 2000.
“This is why most of the problems faced by the region before the advent of the NDDC empowerment environmental, human and socio-economic challenges faced by the region came to a sorry state in recent years.”
The group noted that the House Committee on NDDC in the 9th Assembly failed to have any positive impact in the Niger Delta region of the state, saying the office was only used to create unprecedented calamities in the Commission for the people of the oil producing area of the state.
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The stated that the area was sidelined in terms of projects allocation, empowerment programs, training, Scholarship and employment of new staff into the Commission.
They maintained that the underdevelopment of the region was as a result of the fundamental error made by the leadership of the 9th Assembly in appointing someone outside the Niger Delta region as the Chairman House Committee on NDDC.
While congratulating Hon Abbas on his election as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the group said they would not want a situation where socio-economic projects meant to add value to the region would either be diverted or misplaced.
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