Minister of Transport, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, has been alleged as the brain behind the dissolution of the Niger Delta Development Commission board, and also the appointment of Prof. Nelson Brambaifa as the MD of the interventionist agency.
Those who claim to be in the know told us that Mr. Amaechi allegedly bypassed the Secretary to Federal government, Mr. Boss Mustapha, in dissolving the NDDC board.
According to them, Amaechi had for long wanted the removal of Mr. Derek .L. Mene, who is alleged to be an ally of Senator Magnus Abe, whom the Transport Minister is having a running battle of with, in the Rivers State All Progressives Congress, APC.
Amaechi was alleged to have written a memo to President Muhammadu Buhari, requesting the dissolution of the board of the interventionist agency. This was said to have been overridden by the SGF, Boss Mustapha, who made it known that the offices are tenured, thus advised against the dissolution.
On Friday, January 25, 2019, however, the outgone MD, Mr. Nsima Ekere, was at the presidency to submit his resignation letter, and to thank President Muhammadu Buhari for giving him the opportunity to serve. This information, sources claimed, threw Amaechi into confusion as he dashed down to the presidency with an old memo earlier assented to by Mr. President, before the attention of Mr. President was allegedly drawn to the impropriety of acceding to Amaechi’s request.
According to them, it was the old memo that Amaechi handed over to Buhari’s media aide, prevailing on him to announce the dissolution of the NDDC board.
The announcement which came through some online media portals and social media sites, has been generating negative responses from across the Niger Delta. Some Niger Deltans are of the opinion that since the outgone MD, Mr.Nsima Ekere’s tenure is expected to expire by 2021, his replacement in the light of his resignation, should have come from Akwa Ibom where the outgone MD hails from as stipulated by the act to complete their tenure. By procedure, the Executive Director, Finance and Administration, should have acted as MD till a replacement is appointed and confirmed by the senate.
The appointment of Prof. Nelson Brambaifa, a Bayelsan and his returning officer in the 2015 elections, by Amaechi from the position of a state Rep, to an acting MD, is currently generating some furore.
It is also seen in many quarters as a slight on Chief Timipre Sylva who is the leader of the party in Bayelsa state. Also, the removal of Mr. Derek Mene, an Ogoni man who is being replaced by Mr. Chris Oyendah Amadi, an Ikwerre man is not going down well with the Ogonis who are among the largest oil producers.