Ex-agitators Tackle Ondo Senators for Opposing Buhari’s Nominee 

Sunday Ehigiator

The Niger Delta Development Front (NDDF) has tackled three senators from Ondo State for opposition to the nomination of Mr Charles Ogunmola as Executive Director, Projects at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

NDDF, a coalition of former agitators and militants from seven states in the Niger Delta, faulted the argument of the senators that Ogunmola, who was recently nominated by President Muhammadu Buhari on the ground that it was not mandatory such a nominee should come from an oil producing community.

In a statement by its National Coordinator, Ovie Bobarakuie; National Secretary, Kingsley Ebiowou and National Publicity Secretary, Solomon Orighomisan, the coalition warned that Ogunmola’s rejection would create a bad precedent if such happens.

The statement was titled, “NDDC: Mr Charles Ogunmola’s Ill-advised Rejection by Ondo Senators, Fake Ex-militants’ Threat and Matters Arising.”

As indicated in the statement, the ex-agitators explained that Senate had previously screened and confirmed Mr Nsima Ekere from Akwa Ibom State and Chief Onyema Ogochuckwu from Abia State as Managing Directors of NDDC, both of who are not the oil-producing areas in their states.

They further pointed out that said the three senators from Rivers State rejected the nomination of former Governor Rotimi Amaechi as Minister in 2015, but the Senate eventually confirmed Amaechi and heaven did not fall.

They, therefore, argued that states “are the oil-producing areas boldly mentioned in the NDDC Act, not the local government areas or villages where crude oil is explored because such will cause ethnic disunity if allowed to happen.

They faulted the senator representing Ondo South, Nicholas Tofowomo, for threatening to mobilise what they tagged ‘faceless militants to resume destruction of public properties and peace if the senate eventually confirmed Ogunmola.

They urged security agencies “to hold the senator responsible if there be any breakdown of law and order in Ilaje and Ese Odo Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Ondo State.

They lamented the ocean incursion into Ayetoro, a community in Ilaje LGA despite reports, indicating that the contract for the reclamation against ocean incursion in the community had been awarded three times yet no contract was executed.

The statement of the ex-agitators read in part: “We at the Niger/Delta Development Front (NDDF), a group of over 400 ex-agitators from Delta, Bayelsa, Ondo, Rivers, Edo, Abia and Imo States respectively, are constrained to react to Ogunmola’s ill-advised rejection, President Buhari’s nominee for the position of Executive Director (Projects) on the board of NDDC by the three senators from Ondo State and threat by some faceless politicians masquerading as ex-militants to disrupt the peace in the state should the senate confirm him.

“It is pertinent to state that while we understand that the two PDP senators from Ondo Central and South merely played destructive opposition politics by rejecting the nominee, the only APC senator, Ajayi Boroffice, did so out of petty ethnic jealousy.

“A question for him: would he have rejected him if Ogunmola had been from any of the communities in Akoko where he is their Asiwaju? Did Senator Boroffice kick when Bunmi Ojo from Akoko was made the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on NDDC? Of course, the answer is an emphatic no.

It is also worth mentioning that the two PDP senators lost their party re-election tickets because of abysmal performance in office and are now looking for anything to hang on just to be seen to be on the side of the people.

“While one may sympathise with the senators because their rejection is an exercise in futility as the Senate in its wisdom will neither disgrace the president who legitimately exercised the rights conferred on him by the NDDC Act to nominate Ogunmola nor piss on its precedent which will be outlined later in the course of this public intervention.

“The threat to disrupt the relative peace in the region is non-existent as it is the handiwork of some faceless and rapacious politicians hiding under the guise of ex-militants to further their parasitic agenda which has deprived the region of the needed development and growth over the years.

“We condemn without equivocation the statement credited to Tofowomo that Ilaje and Ese Odo youths will resort to violence and militancy should the Senate confirm Ogunmola’s nomination.”