Cairo Ojougboh To Act As Acting EDP
By Ovie Okpare
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday appointed a three-man Interim Management Committee to oversee the running of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The acting board is expected to run the activities of the interventionist agency pending Senate screening, approval and subsequent swearing in of the newly appointed board by President Buhari.
Those appointed by Mr President include Mrs Joy Gbene Nunieh, who will be acting as Managing Director (MD), Dr Cairo Ojuogboh as the acting Executive Director, Project (EDP) and Chief Ibanga Bassey Etang as the Acting Executive Director, Finance and Administration.
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, while performing the inauguration ceremony of the committee, said President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the appointment of the three-man Interim Management Committee.
He also similarly confirmed the development during a live television programme Politics Today on Channels Television on Tuesday.
Akpabio stated that acting board would function pending the senate screening, approval and completion of the proposed forensic audit exercise ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari recently on the activities of the commission.
He said the committee had already been inaugurated by his ministry.
According to Akpabio, President Buhari has directed that the new board would be sworn in upon the completion of the forensic audit.
He added that the ministry of NDA had already advertise for forensic experts for the purpose of the audit, saying that previous leadership of the commission would give account for funds and projects their administration executed.
According to the minister, the committee would be in place to create the necessary ambience for a hitch free forensic exercise, adding that the Inauguration of the Board Members would be put on hold until the forensic exercise is completed.
The Minister said that the forensic audit as ordered by Buhari would cover 18 years of NDDCs operations between 2001- 2019.
According to Akpabio, there would be 10 slots of auditing firms with each State assigned one while the NDDC Headquarters slot would be the coordinating slot.
The Minister urged the Interim Committee to discharge it’s duties effectively and efficiently without fear or favour, noting that the people of the Niger Delta region and indeed the whole country reposed confidence in them in overseeing the affairs of the Commission as an interventionist agency to work towards alleviating the plight of the people of the Niger Delta region.
