House to Investigate IOCs Disobedience to NDDC Act
•Decries upsurge of Flood in FCT
•Urges NEMA to provide relief materials to victims of erosion disaster in Aba North
Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The House of Representatives has resolved to constitute an Ad-hoc Committee to investigate the alleged flagrant disobedience of the international oil companies operating in the Niger Delta Region to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Act 2000.
The resolution of the House followed the adoption of a motion moved at plenary yesterday, by Hon. Donald Ojogo. Moving the motion, the lawmaker said the establishment of the NDDC Act, 2000, was in response to heightened agitations and violent yearnings for special intervention in the following oil-producing States: Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers as enshrined in Section 2 (1) of the subject under debate.
He stressed that the indebtedness of the IOCs to the NDDC had culminated in the drive by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to commence the debt recovery process.
The lawmaker expressed worry that the EFCC in its recovery process, has continually held on to all such recovered monies without remitting the same to the NDDC for the Commission to meet its obligations.
The House therefore resolved to “Constitute an Ad-hoc Committee to investigate the flagrant disobedience of the aforementioned Section of the NDDC Act 2000 (as amended) by the International Oil Companies operating in the Niger Delta Region.”
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives yesterday, decried the alarming upsurge of flood in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) over the years leaving tales of woes in the minds of the affected families.
The Green Chamber also lamented the periodic flooding in Lokogoma, Galadimawa and particularly Trademore estate and other adjourning estates on the airport road which had led to loss of lives and properties;
Moving the motion at plenary yesterday, Hon. Joshua Obika explained that Trademore Estates currently houses over 20,000 people and have been in existence since 2007, when the first set of residents were allocated houses through a mortgage process administered by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria;
He said the perennial flooding was on the increase geometrically bearing in mind the recent havoc at Trademore Estate as a result of heavy rainfall on 23 June, 2023, when houses were submerged in water, while some were pulled down and killing a lecturer at the University of Abuja;
The House, therefore, called on the FCT Emergency Management Agency to provide relief materials to the victims of Trade Moore Estate, and also mandated the Committee on FCT Administration (when constituted) to ensure compliance
However, the House has called on the National Emergency Management Agency of Nigeria (NEMA) to provide relief materials to the victims of the erosion disaster in Ogbo Community in Aba North Local Government Area of Abia State.
It also urged the Ecological Fund office (EFO) to release adequate funds to solve the erosion challenge in Aba North Local Government Area of Abia State. The resolution of the House followed the adoption of a motion moved at the plenary on Wednesday by Hon. Emeka Nnamani.
Moving the motion, the lawmaker said due to torrential rainfall which damaged economic crops and washed away farmlands, Ogbo Community in Aba North and South Federal Constituency in Abia State had suffered devastating gully erosion which has brought with it untold hardship, poses an imminent threat to lives and property of the residents;
The House called on NEMA to provide relief materials and provide a temporary camp for the affected Communities as a temporal succour to alleviate their sufferings pending a permanent solution to the erosion menace.
It also urged the ECO to visit the sites to take statistics of the extent of ravage and liaise with the Ministry of Environment for urgent intervention.
