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Intrigues as Amaechi, Akpabio, Sylva battle for control of NDDC
Top politicians from the Southsouth zone are intensifying their push for the control of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC).
The NDDC is an agency saddled with interventionist projects for oil-producing areas.
Among the gladiators are two former ministers, Chief Godswill Akpabio, the immediate past Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs and Mr Rotimi Amaechi who until May this year, was Minister of Transport.
Also believed to be scheming for the control of the agency is Minister of State for Petroluem Resources, Mr Timipreye Sylva, and Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwarts are working round the clock to influence the appointment of the agency’s managing director as well as its finance director.
The agency has been run by an interim management board since 2019 and the gladiatora are backing different persons for the plum job.
Incidentally, Amaechi, who is strongly believed to have influenced the appointment of Umana Okon Umana as the new Niger Delta minister, is said to be using his closeness to President Muhammadu Buhari and an influential member of the “Villa cabal” to get his nominee from Rivers State appointed as Managing Director as “rehabilitation” for him after failing to clinch the APC presidential ticket. This is necessary “to keep and service his support base in Rivers State”.
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Both Amaechi and Akpabio resigned their portfolios as ministers in April to contest the presidential ticket of the ruling party, but failed at the primary.
The latter’s subsequent bid to have the senatorial ticket for Akwa Ibom Northwest as a “consolation prize” is currently still hanging in the balance.
Already, the Council of Traditional Rulers in Bayelsa has declared that it is the turn of Bayelsa to produce the Managing Director.
Though sources close to Amaechi were very confident his candidate would emerge “because he has the President’s ears and those of the Villa cabal”, the sentiments against the former Rivers governor were that he had “monopolised the NDDC board since the inception of the Buhari administration”, having also handpicked the two immediate past substantive Managing Directors, Mrs. Ibim Semitari and Mr. Nsima Ekere, who was arrested in May by the Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) over an alleged N47b fraud in the NDDC.
Akpabio, on the other hand, is said to be rooting for Denyabofa Dimaro who also reportedly enjoys the backing of Umana. One of the odds against Dimaro, is that he is over 76 years old, and seen “as too old for the rigours of office and should be retiring by now”.
For almost three years that he served as minister, Akpabio was seen as having technically remote-controlled the agency through an Interim Management Board he hand-picked with a sweeping mandate to undertake a “forensic audit” of the agency from inception. Critics said it was an interminable gambit to short-circuit a statutory board required by law and perpetuate the aberration of a caretaker committee.
Ironically, Ms. Joy Nunieh, head of the caretaker panel appointed by Akpabio in 2019, later fell out with him.
Sylva’s move to install Maxwell Oko, his Bayelsa kinsman, is said to be facing strong resentment among stakeholders, who are accusing him of creeping “ nepotism”.
Apart from the fact that the recently appointed substantive Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Kesiye Wabote, is said to be the minister’s cousin, the chairman of Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) board, Chief Edmund Daukoru, appointed in July 2020, is also widely known to be his mentor and was his boss during the Obasanjo administration.
Besides, Oko is battling with a petition written against him raising questions over his academic records.
On the other hand, Omo-Agege is said to be unrelenting in his bid to influence the emergence of Sam Mgbuku, despite the ongoing legal entanglement over “a serious case”.
In the face of mounting opposition to Oko, the Minister of State for Petroleum is believed to have worked out a Plan B by seeking an alliance with Omo-Agege, who hails from Delta State, such that Oko would be considered as Finance Director for the agency while Mgbuku would be Managing Director.
Speaking at a two-day management retreat organised by the Ministry of Niger Delta affairs last week in Abuja , President Buhari hinted that the NDDC board would be announced soon . He spoke in apparent response to agitations by stakeholders.
The leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark, had expressed misgivings over speculations that the government may again extend the tenure of the Interim Committee of the NDDC.
The Nation
News
Investigation of wanted businesswoman Achimugu not linked with Atiku, Sanwo-Olu – EFCC
Investigation of wanted businesswoman Achimugu not linked with Atiku, Sanwo-Olu – EFCC
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has reacted to media reports linking its investigations of Ms. Aisha Achimugu with political undercurrents involving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu
This is contained in a statement by the commission on Friday night.
The statement read, “We wish to state unequivocally that the investigations of Achimugu have no correlation of any kind with the two political actors. She is being investigated for alleged criminal conspiracy and money laundering and has since been declared Wanted by the Commission”.
The EFCC started investigating Achimugu in 2022. Although she approached the court to obtain an injunction restraining the Commission from arresting, investigating, inviting or detaining her for any alleged criminal act, the injunction was challenged and vacated on Wednesday, February 19, 2025 by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
The court ruled that “…no court has the power to stop the investigative powers of the Police or EFCC or any agency established under our laws to investigate crimes when there is reasonable suspicion of commission of a crime or ample evidence of commission of an offence by a suspect.”
“The court further upheld the interim order of forfeiture of assets of Achimugu suspected to be proceeds of crime, dismissing her suit against it as lacking merit .
“The foregoing clearly establishes that the EFCC’s case against her has no immediate or remote nexus with any politician or any veiled or open reference to any political engagement or transaction.
“The EFCC is non-partisan and non-sectarian. We enjoin the public to continue to keep faith with the professionalism of the Commission without imputing any extraneous consideration to its works.”
News
Why governors’ forum is silent on Rivers emergency, by DG
Why governors’ forum is silent on Rivers emergency, by DG
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) yesterday attributed its neutral position on the recent declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State to the need to steer clear of taking positions that may alienate members with varying political interests.
Taking positions on contentious partisan issues, the NGF said, would not augur well for it, especially in view of its past experience in fundamental division.
Notwithstanding, the declaration of the state of emergency by President Bola Tinubu yesterday generated more kudos and knocks from across the country.
Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, Senator Basheer Lado, said the action of the president was meant to ensure protection of lives and restoration of law and order in the state, while the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, said his principal was required to “avert needless harm and destruction .”
National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Felix Morka, said Tinubu, by his action, cleared what had manifested as a constitutional crisis in Rivers state.
But former President Goodluck Jonathan saw it from a different perspective.
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He described “abuse of office and power by the three arms of government in the country“ as a dent on Nigeria’s image.
The NGF, in a statement by its Director General Abdulateef Shittu, said it is essentially “an umbrella body for sub-national governments to promote unified policy positions and collaborate with relevant stakeholders in pursuit of sustainable socio-economic growth and the well-being of the people.”
It added: “As a technical and policy hub comprising governors elected on different platforms, the body elects to steer clear of taking positions that may alienate members with varying political interests.
“In whatever language it is written, taking positions on contentious partisan issues would mean a poor sense of history — just a few years after the forum survived a fundamental division following political differences among its members.
“Regardless, the Forum is reputed for its bold positions on governance and general policy matters of profound consequences, such as wages, taxes, education and universal healthcare, among others.”
It asked for “the understanding of the public and the media, confident that appropriate platforms and crisis management mechanisms would take care of any such issues.”
Why governors’ forum is silent on Rivers emergency, by DG
News
Rivers: Tinubu acted to save state, economy, says Karimi
Rivers: Tinubu acted to save state, economy, says Karimi
Chairman of the Senate Services Sunday Karimi has hailed President Bola Tinubu for the decision to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State.
He told reporters on Friday in Abuja that the President acted in the best interest of the State and Nigeria, having taken his decision in compliance with the Constitution.
“No President or government worth a name, will fold its arms and watch a political situation deteriorate to what we saw unfolding in Rivers State.
“We saw that bombing of pipelines had begun, and the security situation was getting worse with the tension everywhere”, Karimi stated.
Karimi, who represents Kogi-West on the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), recalled the “fatherly role” Tinubu had played in the crisis since 2023 in a bid to get the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara to reach an understanding, to no avail.
He explained: “We were all here in 2023 when Mr President called that truce meeting at the Aso Rock Villa. There was the eight-point agenda for settlement reached between the factions.
“When Nigerians expected that progress should be made to achieve peace, things started deteriorating considerably to a point where the governor demolished the House of Assembly building and administered the state with only three legislators.”
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Karimi observed that with the recent judgment of the Supreme Court, which gave the upper hand to the 27 lawmakers loyal to the camp of the FCT Minister, matters merely got worse in the State as the lawmakers were set to impeach the Governor.
“What did you expect would be the implications? There would have been more destruction, killings and economic losses for the country.
“With the bombings that had already started, it was a matter of time before the whole state would be engulfed in flames. No responsible President would sit, arms folded, and allow that to happen “ he added.
The senator further argued that it took “painstaking efforts” by the administration to raise daily crude oil production to around 1,800 barrels, noting that Nigeria’s economy was already “witnessing a rebound under the renewed hope projects of the government.”
“Allowing the situation in Rivers to get worse before he would act, wouldn’t have helped the state or Nigeria as a country in any way.
“Mr. President intervened at the right time, and his actions are covered by law,” he said.
Karimi also spoke on the emergency declaration in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and a couple of other states by former President Goodluck Jonathan without removing the Governors from office or suspending the state assemblies.
According to him, the case with those States was not generated by political crises but rather security concerns.
“So, I will advise those comparing the two scenarios to remember that one was purely about security threats resulting from the insurgency caused by Boko Haram, while that of Rivers is clearly political.
“It was the proper thing to do to suspend the political actors in the two factions to allow for tensions to diffuse. Nigerians should appreciate the President for the action he has taken so far,” he stated.
Sen. Karimi also noted that there was no cause for alarm as the National Assembly had indicated that the emergency rule could be reviewed as soon as there were signs that things could quickly normalise in Rivers State.
Rivers: Tinubu acted to save state, economy, says Karimi
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