The publisher and Chairman of Newsportal, one of Nigeria’s reliable online news platforms, Mr. ThankGod Ntaku, has advised the leader of Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, Chief Edwin Clark to canvass for a rechristening of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, instead of calling for the removal of some member states from the Commission.
Reecall that Clark had called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to remove Abia, Imo and Ondo States from the NDDC, arguing that all other oil-producing states should establish a relationship with the oil companies and Nigeria.
In a statement released on Thursday, Ntaku posited that the call made by the former Federal Commissioner gave the impression that the other States in the Commission, apart from Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Rivers, were responsible for the failures of the NDDC over the years.
He was of the opinion that if the reason behind the call made by Clark was nationalistic, he would have suggested that the name of the Commission be changed from NDDC to Nigeria Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, (NOPADEC).
According to Ntaku, renaming NDDC by the federal government through an act of parliament, would naturally end the arguments raised by Clark on states that should be in Niger Delta Development Commission.
The Ukwa West born media guru, while noting that since the inception of the NDDC, key positions of Chairman, Managing Director and Executive Directors have largely been occupied by the core Niger Delta States, said Clark and others who felt that the NDDC had not lived up to the expectations of the people, should naturally put the greater percentage of the blame on the doorsteps of those who have had the responsibilities of managing the affairs of the Commission.
Ntaku, however, called for the amendment of the Act establishing the NDDC, only to the effect that the name be changed to NOPADEC to accommodate other states where oil has been discovered outside Niger Delta.
This is even as he called for an increase in the allocation from the Federation Account to the Commission to enable the Commission do more towards the growth and development of oil producing areas.
