The Coalition of Niger Delta Agitators has called on the Federal Government to rescind its decision to move the Niger Delta Development Commission from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
The coalition in a statement on Friday condemned the handover of the NDDC to the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, adding that the development would breed more corruption that would impoverish the oil-rich region.
It stated that the decision of the Federal Government to move the NDDC away from the office of the SGF was contrary to the Act which established the agency.
It added that the new policy would create friction between the leaders of the commission and the ministry.
The statement, signed by the convener of the coalition, John Duku, and 15 others, read, “We condemn in its entirety the recent redeployment of the NDDC from the office of the SGF to the MNDA.
“We wish to state that, rather than help to enhance the living standards of the communities in the Niger Delta through coordinated and appropriate programmes as emphasised by the Federal Government, the policy would only end up in creating room for greater corruption in the ministry and leave the region more impoverished.
“Without any iota of doubt, it is going to make the supervising minister powerful, and they will at all times try to influence the budget and administration of the commission which was created to be autonomous and had been so since its establishment. The new policy is bound to create friction between the leadership of the commission and the ministry.
“Secondly, government’s decision to move the NNDC runs foul of the act that established the commission which originally put the parastatal under the SGF’s office.
“We, therefore, want government to rescind its decision on this; otherwise we will view it as a grand design by the Presidency to continue to create confusion, conflict and tension in the region.”
Source: Punch
