The Abia State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has called for the immediate removal of the State nominated member in the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Mr. Nwogu Nwogu.
Revealing this to newsmen in a press conference in Umuahia, the state capital, Thursday, Comrade Benedict Godson, the State Publicity Secretary of APC in Abia, said the unanimous rejection of Nwogu arose after due and thorough consultations with major stakeholders of the party leaderships in the ward, Local government and State levels.
Godson stressed that the essence of establishing Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was to ensure rapid development in oil producing areas, adding that the impact of the commission to the oil communities cannot be overemphasised.
He opined that whosoever that must occupy the board’s position must be familiar and knowledgeable with the plights of the people in the oil areas, adding that Nwogu(Abia nominee) is unfit to occupy such office.
The APC spokesman, however, appealed to the presidency to allow the people of the state to field competent person as Abia representative in the NDDC board.
Godson’s words, “Our position is very simple. We don’t know who is Nwogu Nwogu. Not just on issue of name or having been there before, but, what impact has he made? Does Abia look like an oil producing state?
“We need a representative in that position who understands our plight. Even in party level, does anybody know the man? He was never involved in anything throughout the election. He was not involved in the governorship, presidential, Senatorial, House of Representatives or even State Assembly elections.
“The APC has grown above the issue of ‘Monkey dey work baboon dey chop.’ We call on all party members to remain calm as the leadership of the party is working very hard to correct this error. Others cannot work for this party, while those who hide from the battle will get appointed into positions they know absolutely nothing about.
“We call on the presidency to verify the man whose name was sent to them and see if he is worthy to be there. They can make inquiries about Abia and ask who Nwogu Nwogu is. Because for us, we don’t know.”
Meanwhile, as at the time of filing this report, our correspondent could not reach the new Abia nominee in the NDDC Board, Mr. Nwogu Nwogu, nor any of his aides for reaction.
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had on Tuesday approved the appointment of a 16-man Board members of the Niger Delta Development Commission(NDDC) with Dr. Pius Odubu, ex-deputy Governor of Edo State, as chairman.
Among the nominees are Mr. Nwogu Nwogu appointed to represent Abia State in the board.
In a statement from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), it was also stated that the appointment of the 16-man board members was subject to the confirmation of the Senate.