By NAOMI SHARANG

Chief Edwin Clark, the Leader of Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), has called on President Bola Tinubu to move for the amendment of the 2000 Act establishing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

This, he said was to remove Non-Niger Delta oil producing states of Abia, Imo and Ondo from the nine states that make up the NDDC.

The nine states are Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Imo, Abia, Cross River and Akwa Ibom.

The elder state man made the call at a news conference held in Abuja on Tuesday.

According to Clark, in the first instance, the inclusion of the three states in the commission was a political aberration.

He said: “If NDDC is to succeed, the three states should be severed from the act.

“NDDC should remain the six original Niger Delta Coastal States. All other oil producing states should establish a relationship with the oil companies and Nigeria.

“This is particularly now that oil has been found in other parts of Nigeria including Anambra which is already producing 0.9%, Bauchi, Gombe, Nasarawa, Kogi, and Lagos States.

“They cannot therefore be part of NDDC.

“The NDDC Establishment Act 2000 signed by the then Senate President Chuba Okadigbo outlined the functions of the nine states and who should be the Executive Management.

“One should bear in mind that the addition of Ondo, Imo and Abia was a political aberration.

“For me to demand for the removal of Non-Niger Delta Oil Producing States from NDDC is for NDDC to succeed.

“The success of the NDDC is the success of Nigeria.

“There was a reason why Imo, Abia and Ondo were brought into NDDC. Geographically they are not Niger Delta; they are not coastal states. It was a political aberration.

“The Federal Government should make arrangements to accommodate them as it is in NDCC same principle to be used not to disorganised the NDDC we want to succeed.”

He likened the NDDC to a liability company which also has majority shareholders and minority shareholders.

“A situation where a minority shareholder in a limited liability company would like to be a managing director of the company, it is unreasonable, improper and chaotic.

“That is the main reason why I said no.

“It is not possible for a minority shareholder of even 5 per cent to be the Chairman or Managing Director of the limited liability company.

“It will be unfair and inequitable for a state that produces 1.02 per cent to produce managing director of the NDDC.

“I know Nigeria as we are, the tendency will be to develop their own minority oil producing state to develop their area at the expense of the majority of oil producing states which incidentally happen to sum up to over 90 per cent of the oil.

“It is therefore, unreasonable, provocative and selfish for Imo which produces only 1.02 per cent quantum of oil to demand removal of the Chief Executives of NDDC Board that has been confirmed by the Senate.” (NAN)

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