Onochie as NDDC’s First Female Chairperson

Emameh Gabriel writes on the expectations from the newly appointed NDDC chairman, Lauretta Onochie, by the people of Niger Delta as she assumes office this week.

Almost three years after the suspension of the substantive board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the subsequent disbandment of the interim management board of the commission, President Muhammadu Buhari late last year appointed one of his loyal aides, Ms. Lauretta Onochie, as NDDC Chairman.

President Buhari had in November, 2022 written to the Senate for the confirmation of Onochie’s appointment and 11 others as members of the newly constituted board of the Niger Delta Development Commission.

Onochie’s appointment as the first female Chairperson of the Commission since inception has put behind the perception that the Commission is a boys-only club, deflecting criticism that the Buhari’s administration has failed to consider more women in top government’s jobs.

Her appointment came almost a year after the release of a report of a forensic investigation ordered by the President on widespread corruption and sundry contract scam that rocked the commission till 2021.

This followed a breathtaking revelation of over 13,777 compromised projects, 362 bank accounts and money running into about N6 trillion expended on projects and investments in NDDC since 2001.

The President’s intention was to clean up the rots in the Commission and set a new template for the new management with a view to restore accountability and therefore  rebuild confidence in the minds of the people of the region.

While her appointment has stirred up fear among some persons in the region who wanted her job at all cost to protect their interest in the Commission, perhaps to sweep leading investigation under the carpet, President Buhari has been widely commended for appointing a woman for the plum job, one who they said does not only posses the right credentials but also fits the job.

Among those who have hailed the President for her appointment are Senator Stella Oduah who thanked Buhari “On behalf of Nigerian women for giving” oil producing states “a woman who is capable”.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Senator Ayo Akinyelure, also commended President Buhari preference for appointing Lauretta Onochie  as the Chairman of the Board of the NDDC.

He said: “Since men had been managing the agency for a long time and there were no much significant improvement, Mr. President may think that the appointment of a woman could change a lot of things at the NDDC.”

Similarly, royal fathers in the region under the aegis of Niger Delta Council Of Chiefs has described Onochie’s appointment as “the best parting gift for the people of Niger Delta region by Mr President.

“We believe with this appointment all maladministration, indiscriminate and misuse of allocation of the commission shall be a thing of the past going by Onochie’s pedigree.

“For those who cross the path of the Onochie, they can testify that she represents everything Mr President represents; Transparency, Decency, Uprightness, Selflessness and Doggedness. These are the qualities the commission needs at this moment to deliver on its mandate”, they said.

Onochie, a former aide to President Buhari, who had her appointment turned down as INEC Resident Commissioner by the Ahmad Lawan-led Senate in 2021 took oath of office on Wednesday.

Even when her appointment was expected not to draw an ire from any quarters, but before now, some stakeholders of the region were piqued over reports that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, immediate past Minister of Transportation, Hon Rotimi Amaechi and the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, are entangled in a battle with a former Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Godswill Akpabio and his successor, Umana Umana, for the control of the NDDC board.

Unlike her last nomination as INEC National Commissioner that generated political ruckus at the Senate, she was confirmed by the Senate just few weeks after Buhari’s letter to the Senate was read on the floor of the Senate.

She was said to have been recommended for the job because of her implacable personality. Besides, “the President believes that women were more committed to their jobs and have less responsibility to derail”, said a source.

 Upon resumption, Onochie will face the challenge of restoring the values and purposes for which the NDDC was created. She is expected to draw out a code of conduct that will help her achieve the mandate which she was appointed for.

Onochie must be ready to step on toes to change the narratives. The task ahead is huge, given the fact that power brokers in the Niger Delta have in the past seen the NDDC as a cash cow and funds from its coffers have been used to further political interests. It is this prevailing situation that has engendered high leadership turnover in the agency overtime and the order for forensic audit by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Central to the problem of the NDDC has always been accountability and it is for the reason, the choice of Onochie, a very loyal subject to Buhari and woman known to be prudent was informed.

The President was believed to have settled for Onochie only after pressure from some forces in the Niger Delta and some key members of his kitchen cabinet consider her as one with the right credentials and discipline to clean up the rot in the Commission.

Her first priority therefore is to begin the tracking and profiling of all projects awarded by the Commission in the last one year with a view to ascertaining if due processes were followed and most importantly, if specifications were met.

Onochie was appointed Personal Assistant to the President on Social Media in 2016 after her immense influence on social media that drove the 2015 presidential campaigns. Her appointment was renewed after the 2019 presidential election and since then, she has lived up to expectations.

She has shown unflinching determination in the course of her political career with  President Buhari’s administration. Her loyalty has passed through thick and thin and this has endeared her to her boss, including other members of his kitchen cabinet.

The Anioma-born social media influencer is a child behaviour deficiency correctional expert. She is also a trained pastor. With all of these combined and with her experience working with Buhari for about seven years, Onochie is one to watch out for at NDDC.