Buhari’s aid Onochie gets Senate’s confirmstion as NDDC chairman

**Urges Buhari to forward forensic report to NASS

President Muhammadu Buhari’s special assistant on New Media, Lauretta Ifeanyi Onochie has been confirmed as the chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The upper legislative chamber however demanded for forensic report carried out on the commission by the Presidency.

Confirmation of appointments of 13 out of the 15 Presidential nominees for the Board by the Senate, was sequel to adoption of recommendations made to that effect by the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs which was however kicked against by some Senators .
They are Dimgba Erugba – State representative (Abia, South East), Ene Wilcox ( Akwa Ibom, State Representative, Gbenga Odegba (South West, Ondo).

Others are Onyekachi Dimgba (Rivers State South South), Mohammed Abubakar(Zonal Representative, Nasarawa), Tallen Mamma, (North East Representative, Adamawa), Sodique Sani (North West, Zonal Representative), Samuel Ibukun (MD), Charles Airhiavbere, (Executive of Finance) and Charles Ogunmola (Executive Director Project , South West).

However, two other nominees, Pius Egberanwen Odudu, and Anthony Okanne, who were nominated to represent Edo and Imo states respectively, were not confirmed because they failed to appear before the screening conducted by the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs.

In a remark, President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, expressed the optimism that the new NDDC executives would be fully committed to the objective of the commission.

He asked all those confirmed to note that the NDDC is an interventionist organ of the Federal government and as such, it should be made to realise its original terms of reference.

“At last the Commission has gotten the proper management and board and I believe that time is of essence here the chairman and members should hit the ground running as so much time has been lost.
“I believe that from now until when their tenure will elapse they have a lot of work to do because NNDC as we all know is an interventionist institution created by government in 2000 and of course it was a sacrifice of the members of the National assembly members especially those who are not from the Niger Delta to ensure that there is peace and unity and that there is fairness in the region.

“For those that will take over the mantle of leadership let see NDDC as a development institute rather than a cash cow.
You should ensure that communities that this institution is supposed to work for really benefit from its existence and from the resources
“I also want to ask the Executive arm of Government to send down the result of the Forensic Audit, yes let us see the result of the Forensic Audit, the Audit had taken its toll on the Commission, most of the time the argument was that there shouldn’t be a management in place until the Audit is over.
“Now the forensic audit is over we want to see what the report is saying and the best place to bring it is the National Assembly. So the copies of the Forensic Audit should be brought to the two chambers for us to see what has happened and what the auditors have unraveled because we also need to know what our mistakes were .

“We are supposed to oversight, certain things escaped our scrutiny so we need to see what the report says