NDDC Chair Victor Ndoma-Egba(L), Minister Usani Usani(R)
Hanson Esikang|24 November 2016
The Supervisory role over the Niger Delta Development Commission(NDDC) assigned the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Usani Usani by President Muhammadu Buhari is soon to become perverse and over bearing for the commission as the minister is alleged to be foisting on the management of the commission an agenda that stems from personal rather official considerations.
Inside sources at the commission headquarters in Port Harcourt last weekend alleged that no sooner had the commission been inaugurated that the Mr. Usani sent a long list of persons to be appointed into various positions as Aides to the key appointees of the commission.
A source who preferred anonymity said that the Minister had been very particular about the appointment of his cronies as Special Advisers and Special Assistants to some top management officials in the commission.
According to the source, '' I don't know how official it is or whether it is a presidential directive that the commission must absorb a certain list of persons presented by the Minister in its appointment of aides in the commission. ''
The Minister, the source continued has been making frantic efforts at getting the commission to accommodate his cronies as if that was a Presidential directive.
''We have also heard here repeatedly that failure by the commission to comply would produce a frosty relationship between the management and the presidency, the source said.
He alluded that a certain Barr. Eworo believed to be the Minister's man Friday, was mentioned intensively to benefit from the appointment of the Special Adviser to the Managing Director on Youth Affairs.
The undue and unofficial interference in the running of the commission by the Minister the source held has already been frowned at with Youth from a section of the region threatening to mobilise against the Minister.
''A cross section of Niger Delta Youths are mobilising signatures and protest against the interference and they have notified and advised us to be independent minded in all our decisions so to perform maximally '' the source hinted.
Attempts to reach the Minister and the Managing Director of the commission for their side of the report was unsuccessful as their phones were not connecting.
Hanson Esikang
Writes from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State
