Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has described as commendable the oneness displayed by the three senators representing the state in National Assembly following their rejection of Charles Ogunmola’s nomination to the position of Executive Director Projects on the Governing Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Akeredolu stated that the insistence of the senators on strict adherence to the Act establishing the NDDC was in tandem with the position of the state government on the issue.
The governor spoke, yesterday, in a statement made available to The Guardian, through his Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Bamidele Ademola-Olateju.
The senators from the state, Robert Ajayi Boroffice (Ondo North), Pius Akinyelure (Ondo Central) and Nicholas Tofowomo (Ondo South), had last Thursday unanimously kicked against the nomination of Ogunmola, arguing that the nominee is from Owo in the northern senatorial district of the state as against the oil-producing Ilaje and Ese-Odo local council areas in the southern part of the state.
While insisting that it is the turn of Ondo State to produce the Managing Director of the commission, Akeredolu, in the statement, added that no stone would be left unturned in ensuring that the next Executive Director Projects of the NDDC comes from the oil-producing areas of the state.
The statement titled, ‘NDDC Board Nominations: Our Senators Are Right and They Have Our Support,’ reads in part: “We receive with pleasure that the Distinguished Senators representing the three Senatorial Districts of Ondo State have demonstrated unalloyed team spirit, in their joint insistence that the contents of the Act establishing the NDDC be strictly adhered to.
“Our senators have taken the step of courage and have refused to accept arbitrariness, when it is evident that it is the path of least resistance.
“Instead, they have done the right thing by their fearless, selfless and rightful rejection of any infraction on legal authorities, including that, in reference, with regards to the nomination of anyone outside what the NDDC Act stipulates.
“Their resolve can only strengthen our oneness and peculiar status as the only oil-producing state in the Southwest, for now. This is one shrewd, bipartisan political collaboration worthy of huge commendations.
“If feelers at our disposal are anything to rely upon, it is heart-warming to note that on the strength of the resistance and joint rejection by our senators, the Senate Committee on Niger Delta has rejected the nomination of Mr. Charles Ogunmola as nominee for the position of Executive Director, Projects of the NDDC.
“Going by the provisions of the NDDC Act, 2000, and with specific reference to the position of the Managing Director, it is the turn of Ondo State to produce the next Chief Executive of the Commission. We have done what is required by law overtime, to pursue this worthy cause. We shall continue to reactivate all efforts even beyond today to achieve this aim for our state.”
Akeredolu, who assured the senators of the support of the people in their quest to ensure the state was not short-changed in the constitution of the NDDC board, lauded others stakeholders who had expressed concern over the alleged breach of the NDDC Act.
He added: “Notwithstanding, we urge our Distinguished Senators to sustain this courageous pursuit, for it to berth successfully. We count on them to zealously guide and guard their conscionably displayed passion for the people of the oil-producing areas of Ondo State.
“We are in congruence with them, as they monitor events between now and the next plenary session, where their report is most likely to be submitted and debated.
“However, the next collective battle is for all hands to be on deck to achieve what is most desirable in the immediate. Put simply, we must all work together to ensure that Ondo State is not short-changed under the flimsy guise of our ‘rejection of an earlier opportunity’.
“The next EDP of the NDDC is still for the mandate areas of Ondo State to produce. We shall give whatever it takes to achieve this. For this reason, we will ensure a more robust, holistic stakeholders engagement, in a matter of days.”
Meanwhile, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions and Senator representing Ondo Central, Senator Ayo Akinyelure has given reasons for the rejection of Ogunmola as NDDC nominee from the state.
In a statement by his Special Assistance on Media and Strategy, Charles Akinwon, the Senator said President Muhammadu Buhari must have been misinformed about the nomination.
“Though Mr. Charles Ogunmola is from Ondo State he is not from the oil producing area of Ondo State and that was why the three Senators from Ondo State unanimously rejected his nomination.”
Akinyelure, however, urged Buhari to “kindly re-forward another qualified person to be screened on the Board of NDDC to represent the good people of Ondo State.”
