Again, Lawmaker Asks Senate To Reject Ogunmola, Buhari’s Choice For NDDC

Charles Ogunmola’s appointment to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) board as the Executive Director (Projects) has been dogged by controversy. 

This is as the lawmaker representing Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency, Kolade Akinjo, urged the Senate to oppose President Muhammadu Buhari’s nomination of Ogunmola.

According to Akinjo, Ogunmola’s nomination is in violation of the Act that created the commission because he is from the Owo Local Government Area and not any of the Ondo South communities that produce oil, particularly in Ilaje and Ese-Odo local council areas.

According to www.bigpenngr.com, President Buhari on Wednesday forwarded to the Senate the names of 15 nominees to fill the positions of chairperson and executive director on the commission’s board. These nominees included Lauretta Onochie as chairperson, Gbenga Edoema to represent Ondo State, Charles Ogunmola to represent projects, Pius Odubu to represent Edo State, and Charles Airhiavbere to represent finances, among others.

While rejecting the nomination, Hon. Akinjo stated in a protest letter to the Senate that it is in violation of “the letters of Section 12(1) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) (Establishment etc) Act, 2000 (hereinafter referred to as NDDC Act), which provides that:

“There shall be for the Commission, a Managing Director, and two Executive Directors who shall be indigenes of oil producing areas starting with the member states of the Commission with the highest production quantum of oil and shall rotate amongst member states in the order of production.”

While acknowledging the president’s authority to propose candidates for NDDC Board appointments, the lawmaker insisted that any such proposal must be in accordance with pertinent provisions of the Act creating the Commission.

“This letter seeks to draw the attention of your Excellency to the erroneous nomination of Mr. Charles Ogunmola as nominee for the position of Executive Director of Projects on the Board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by the President and Commander in-Chief of Armed Forces of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari while exercising his power pursuant to Section 2(2)(a) of the NDDC Act and to urgently notify the Senate of our rightful and lawful rejection of the said nomination on the grounds that it is not in compliance with the provisions of Section 12(1) of the enabling aforementioned Act”.

Akinjo reminded the Senate that it had previously rejected Adetokunbo Ajasin’s nomination because it was deemed to be in violation of the law establishing the commission.

“Undoubtedly, Mr. Charles Ogunmola, an indigene of Owo in Owo Local Government Area, a non-oil-producing area in Ondo North Senatorial District of Ondo State, is not qualified for nomination as Executive Director. Although, for the record, Mr Charles Ogunmola is eminently qualified for appointment as a representative of the South West, if the Act so permits, he is clearly not eligible for appointment as Executive Director because he is not an indigene of an oil-producing area, as mandatorily required by Section 12(1)(b) of NDDC Act”, the letter reads.

According to the lawmaker, the current nominee, Ogunmola, whose nomination is stirring up controversy, is from the same Owo LGA as the candidate who was turned down by the Senate in 2016 for the same reasons.

In accordance with the requirements of the NDDC Act, Hon. Akinjo requested that the President appoint an Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency native to the position of Executive Director (Projects). 

“On the strength of the above well laid foundation and unassailable premise, we humbly reject the nomination of Mr Charles Ogunmola as Executive Director of Project, and urge the Senate to step down his ratification, and also call on the President to appoint in his place an indigene of the oil-producing area in Ilaje/Ese-Odo federal constituency of Ondo State.” 

“This will go a long way in ensuring the sustainability of the age-long bond, cohesion, and understanding between the people and their government and ultimately guarantee full confidence in this government as one that is anchored on the rule of law,”  the letter further said.