By Our Correspondent
The Lead Convener of South/South Reawakening Group, Mr. Joseph Ambakederemor has called on President Mohammadu Buhari to extend the appointment of the new Acting Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mrs. Ibim Semenitari to enable her focus on repositioning the board.
Ambakederemo made this plea during an interview with our
correspondent in Warri, in his reaction to the appointment of Mrs. Semenitari by President Buhari.
He said President Buhari should give her ample time to put in her maximum effort in instilling the people’s confidence on the Commission adding that she is committed to the development of the Niger Delta region.
He said; “It is on this note that I want the President to extend her
tenure so that she can really look into the issues in the NDDC and put her maximum effort and make the people of the region proud. Though I do not know the condition the President gave to her, but I believe that she should be given some leverage to instill confidence of the people in the Commission. We also want her to bring back the confidence of the banks and see how the banks can collaborate with NDDC to make it vibrant.”
According to him, Mrs. Semenitari has to look into the issue
of staff remuneration saying that it was only when staff are well
taken care of that they will put in their best in the commission.
He said: “She also has to look into the issue of staff welfare because
when staff is not well taken care of, a lot of things can go wrong. We
want her to turnaround everything in that Commission before she
leaves. Some of us who have interacted with her in some occasions know that she has the capacity to deliver and we are ready to support her so that she can succeed with the mandate given her by President Buhari.
Ambakederemo also called on the President to extend his
anti graft war to the NDDC, describing the Commission as one of the most corrupt Commission in the country.
“Another issue is the issue of anti graft war blowing across the
country. NDDC should not be exempted because there is a very high rate of corruption in the Commission. Look at awards of contracts without following due process. Look the schemes put in place in that
Commission by members of the Commission. I will describe the
Commission as an institutional place of corruption. There are a lot of
things going on in that Commission that does not tell well of that
Commission,” Ambakederemo said.
He also called on Mrs. Semenatari to re-introduce what he described as advance payment guarantee which enable contractors to start their work without much hassle.
He stated that re-introduction of the scheme that was initially abused by some contractors was the best way to get projects done quickly.
Ambakederemo also charged the NDDC boss to use her wealth of
experience to bring back the confidence of the banks on the
commission, noting that the synergy between the banks and the
commission will enable the commission function optimally.
