A barrage of petitions has begun to pile up in the presidency from states hosting the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Within the week, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed members of the NDDC governing board.
However, sections of the All Progressive Congress APC under which President Tinubu won the 2023 election are reportedly up writing petitions rejecting some members appointed by Tinubu into the NDDC governing board.
The latest opposition comes from the people of Cross River State who have rejected the appointment of Mr. Asu Oku Okang as the nominee from the state.
They said Okang is a staunch and active member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and not the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The people through APC Legacy Group and Affiliates, have accused the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamala, of working with the former governor of Rivers state and now minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to compromise the nominee of the state submitted to the Presidency by Governor Bassey Otu, for Okang, who is a crony of Wike.
This allegation is contained in an open letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, entitled, Appointment of Board Members to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC): Matters Arising, signed by the Chairman of the Group, Asuquo Ani Okokon (JP).
The group, which expressed displeasure over this development, noted it was the same thing that played out during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, that is now also being repeated.
The group’s statement read in part; ‘‘It is rather sad that what has become the order of the day is that the Office of the Chief of Staff and powerful interest within the Presidency and the ruling party’s hierarchy, has turned this process into money spinning exercise, enriching themselves by selling these positions to the highest bidders.
‘‘We in Cross River state have it on good authority and with hard facts and evidence that the member representing Cross River State in NDDC board, Mr Asu Oku Okang, who is a staunch and card carrying member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Cross River State, was foisted on the state following the deal struck by the former Governor of Rivers State and now Minister for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, with the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamala.
‘‘Wike paid handsomely for the appointment of Okang, who is one of Wike’s cronies in Cross River State while the name submitted by our state governor, Bassey Otu, was discarded.’’
The group noted that this development is an affront on the person of their governor who has made tremendous contributions to APC at both state and National levels. This is as it warned that; ‘‘any attempt to have Wike to now begin to call the shots in Cross River State APC by deciding who gets what as in this present case will be resisted by us as we have proven within a short period of time that APC is the party to beat in the state.’’
Also, the All Progressive Congress in Ondo state has rejected the nomination of Kolade Akinjo as the state representative on the governing board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Leaders of the party, in a virtual meeting, however, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the appointment of Hon Ifedayo Abegunde, as the executive director, Corporate Services of the Commission, a statement by the publicity secretary of APC in Ondo State, Alex Kalejaye said.
In the same vein, the Progressive Advocates Initiative, (PAI) rejected NDDC appointments as it relates to Ondo State.
The group, in an open letter to the president, signed by the chairman and secretary of Progressive Advocates Initiative, Augustine Akinkunmi and Adebayo Adubiaro respectively, said loyal party members were sidelined in the state.
However, the APC chieftains, who reaffirmed loyalty to the president, applauded his efforts to rebuild the economy in the interest of every Nigerian.
“We concede to Mr. President the right to appoint any qualified Nigerian to any office, having given him the popular mandate to preside over our affairs.
“We only wish to remind Your Excellency that Mr. Kolade Victor Akinjo was the House of Representatives candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) during the presidential election, having served two terms on the platform of the opposition party.
“It is equally pertinent to aver that while Mr. President’s desire to instill an all-inclusive governance for the good of the people, we doubt if anyone who worked assiduously for his party, the PDP, as well as his presidential candidate, Abubakar Atiku on the potency of anti-APC sloganeering, fits better than our teeming members for the plum job.
“It is, therefore, our fear that appointing such a man into an influential position could demoralize our members, particularly in Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency, who contributed immensely to the overall votes from the Sunshine State.”
