Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, of Ondo state, has supported the rejection of the nomination of Charles Ogunmola, as the Executive Director, Project in the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC board by the three Senators representing the state in the National Assembly.
Ogunmola, who was nominated by President Muhammadu Buhari, is from Owo, a non oil producing area of the state as against the NDDC act.
The senators, who jointly wrote the letter of rejection of Ogunmola to the Senate President Ahmad Lawan, include Robert Ajayi Boroffice (North), Pius Akinyelure(Central) and Nicholas Tofowomo(South).
They said that their rejection was premised on “the fact that the nomination of Mr Charles Ogunmola is non compliance with the provisions of Section 12(1) of the NDDC (Establishment, etc) Act, 2000.
“The aforementioned Act clearly states that the nominee for the position of Executive Director, Project of NDDC “shall be an indigene of oil-producing area”. Charles Ogunmola is not an indigene of oil producing area of Ondo State.
However, Akeredolu, in a statement signed by his information and Orientation Commissioner, Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, in Akure, the state capital, threw his weight behind the rejection of Ogunmola by the three Senators representing the state.
The statement reads “We receive with pleasure, that the Distinguished Senators representing the three Senatorial Districts of Ondo State have demonstrated unalloyed team spirit, in their joint insistence that the contents of the Act establishing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) be strictly adhered to.
“Our Senators have taken the step of courage and have refused to accept arbitrariness, when it is evident that it is the path of least resistance. Instead, they have done the right thing by their fearless, selfless and rightful rejection of any infraction on legal authorities, including that, in reference, with regards to the nomination of anyone outside what the NDDC Act stipulates.
“Their resolve, can only strengthen our oneness and peculiar status as the only oil-producing State in the Southwest, for now. This is one shrewd bipartisan political collaboration worthy of huge commendations.
“If feelers at our disposal are anything to rely upon, it is heart-warming to note, that, on the strength of the resistance and joint rejection by our Senators, the Senate Committee on Niger Delta has rejected the nomination of Mr Charles Ogunmola as nominee for the position of Executive Director, Projects of the NDDC.
“Going by the provisions of the NDDC Act, 2000, and with specific reference to the position of the Managing Director, it is the turn of Ondo State to produce the next Chief Executive of the Commission. We have done what is required by Law overtime, to pursue this worthy cause.
” We shall continue to reactivate all efforts even beyond today, to achieve this aim for our State.
“Notwithstanding, we urge our Distinguished Senators to sustain this courageous pursuit, for it to berth successfully.
“We count on them to zealously guide and guard their conscionable displayed passion for the people of the oil-producing areas of Ondo State. We are in congruence with them, as they monitor events between now and the next plenary session, where their report is most likely to be submitted and debated.
“However, the next collective battle is for all hands to be on deck to achieve what is most desirable in the immediate.
“Put simply, we must all work together to ensure that Ondo State is not short-changed under the flimsy guise of our ‘rejection of an earlier opportunity’.
“The next EDP of the NDDC is still for the mandate areas of Ondo State to produce. We shall give whatever it takes to achieve this. For this reason, we will ensure a more robust, holistic stakeholders engagement, in a matter of days.
We thank all stakeholders who stood firm and unwavering in their individual and collective stance against the breach of the NDDC Act in light of the recent nominations.
