Jonathan urged to sack NDDC boss/NDDC: Board, MD lobby Jonathan against removal

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Delta State, Mr. Godwin Adode, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to relieve the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Mr. Chubuzor Ugwuoha, of his appointment. He accused Ugwuoha of creating division in the commission.
Adode, who made the call in Ughelli
in a chat with Vanguard, alleged that there had been disharmony on the board of the commission since Ugwuoha assumed office as Managing Director.
He noted that the commission had not done much in the region as a result of the alleged internal wrangling, adding that contractors to the commission were not happy with the development which, he said, had affected the work of the intervention agency.
Jonathan was said to have directed two of his aides to closely study the interim report with a view to advising him on their findings.

It was however learnt that those affected by the recommendations of the Oronsaye Committee had reached out to two very strong contacts in the Presidency to prevail on Jonathan to save their jobs.

It was learnt that the two figures were working assiduously to prevail on Jonathan, who insisted on due process, to retain Ugwuoha and the embattled board.

While the Presidency awaits the final report from Oronsanye and his team, it is most likely that a decision would be taken to remove those considered to be the senior officials of the commission.
SATURDAY PUNCH learnt on Friday in Abuja that in his Executive Summary to the Interim Report addressed to the President, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, recommended the dissolution of the NDDC board as suggested by the committee.

This will be complemented with the immediate disengagement of some very senior staff of the commission to effectively address the crisis in the commission.

In a statement suggestive of a decision to accept the committee’s recommendation to sack the board, the MD and the two EDs, Anyim was said to have noted some difficulties in getting competent hands to run the commission.
It was learnt that the SGF disagreed with one of the core recommendations of the Oronsaye Committee that at the completion of the term of the interim committee, Bayelsa and Rivers, whose citizens had not completed their tenures as the chairman and MD respectively, should be allowed to nominate appointees who would serve out their uncompleted terms.
However, contrary to the position of the committee, the SGF was said to have suggested that for effective result, the reconstitution of the new board must not follow the usual way of asking the states to nominate candidates.
Anyim was said to have noted that there could only be a difference in the NDDC management if the President alone identified reputable hands from the region in the like of Senator Udo Udoma.
Udoma, the present Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who was a colleague of Anyim in the Senate, is not from Bayelsa or Rivers.
The SGF, on behalf of the Federal Government, had set up the Oronsaye Committee to probe the NDDC from 2007 to date earlier this year.
The committee was saddled with the responsibility of interacting with the NDDC stakeholders with a view to identifying the causes of the crisis affecting the commission and proffering solutions that could reposition the body.
Members of the commission included Senator Bassey Ewa-Henshaw, Mr. B.O.N. Otti, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, Mr. Ishaq Yahaya, Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim, Mr. Raymond Brown and Dr. Timiebi Koripamo-Agary.
The interim report submitted by the Oronsaye Committee to the SGF recommended the immediate sacking/disengagement of the board, and the retirement or resignation of Ugwuoha, and the two EDs of the commission over alleged fraudulent transactions.
The committee observed that contrary to the recommendations of the board to update an obsolete accounting manual, the review was allegedly done in violation of Section 14, (3) of the NDDC Act, which empowers the board to make rules concerning the management of the commission’s funds.
According to the committee, the delayed review of the manual, which has taken over 12 months, was responsible for the confusion and conflict about designating signatories to the commission’s account.
The alleged offence of the MD, as highlighted in the report, is “that the MD proceeded to open a new account with First Bank of Nigeria Plc, United Kingdom, without the approval from the Board and with fictitious Board resolution.
“His explanation was that the opening of the new account was necessitated by the evident weakness in Union Bank at the time and to avoid the loss of funds – the commission having experienced a similar situation in the loss of over N1bn in Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria.
“He claimed that he decided to act proactively in anticipation of the board’s retroactive approval.
“Notwithstanding this proactive stance of the MD, the committee is of the view that the MD had sufficient time and could have approval from the board before proceeding to open the new account.”
The Oronsaye Committee observed that in spite of the controversy generated by the account, the MD transferred $37m out of Union Bank, UK into the account.
Additional sums transferred (up to $40m) were from the offshore account of the commission in Union Bank of Nigeria in the UK.
It was learnt that $20m each was deposited in UBA and UBN Nigeria.
SATURDAY PUNCH gathered that payment instructions valued at N2.1bn by the two EDs was stopped by the MD.
The committee gave some far reaching revelations on the factors that tore the relationship between the board and the MD into shreds.