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A group known as Mass Movement Against Injustice and Marginalisation in the South-South has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to see to it that the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is inaugurated immediately.
The group made this known in a statement signed and released on Sunday by its President, Duke Okporua America; General Secretary, Egbe Michael Egbe, and Director of Media and Public Communication, Dan Amor.
The group condemned recent media publications attributed to Itsekiri Interest Group (IIG) and Warri Consultative Forum (WCF) to the effect that Bernard Okumagba, who was appointed by President Buhari as the Managing Director of NDDC, awaiting inauguration, is not from an oil producing area in Delta State.
The group described the publications as mischievous, dangerous, reckless and provocative, stressing that the NDDC MD is a man of class, credibility and distinction, with tested capacity to drive the NDDC and the South South Region to the next level.
The statement reads: “The recent mischievous, dangerous, reckless and provocative statements credited to some fake, unknown and shameless groups particularly the Itsekiri Interest Group (IIG) and the Warri Consultative Forum (Warri), to the effect that Bernard Okumagba, who was appointed by Mr. President, screened and confirmed by the senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the Managing Director of NDDC, awaiting inauguration, is not from oil producing area in Delta State, have come to our knowledge and attention with shock and disbelief. Consequently we wish to state unequivocally as follows:
“The NDDC Act in part 1,Section 2(1)B, requires a person who is to be appointed into the board of NDDC to come from an oil producing area. By definition, an oil producing area is a geographical space bound of its recognition in the constitution as an administrative space.
“Thus an area could be a state, a local Government Area or a senatorial District. In this context, an oil producing area is coterminous with an oil producing local government area. Udu Local Government and Warri South Local Government Areas which are the maternal and paternal local Government Areas respectively of Bernard Okumagba are oil producing areas in Delta State.
“It is therefore fallacious, mischievous and a gross fabrication of untruthful for any group of persons whether fake or real to suggest that Bernard Okumagba is not from an oil producing area.
“Mr President and the general public should totally and completely disregard and ignore that dangerous and provocative assertion by agents of confusion in the Niger Delta region that Bernard Okumagba is not from an oil producing area.
“Those statements are malicious falsehoods and products of evil hands and idle minds programmed to cause confusion to undermine the progress of the Niger Delta.
“It is utterly ridiculous and reprehensible that men who know the truth could dig a deep grave to bury it just because of greed and self interest.
“That “On Bernard Okumagba we stand” as the Managing Director of NDDC. He is a man of class, credibility and distinction with tested capacity to drive the NDDC and the South South Region to the next level.
“That Mr President should immediately direct and cause the board of NDDC to be inaugurated and put to shame the apostles of retrogression and confusion whose ultimate goal is to put the NDDC into their pockets by using falsehood to get their cronies into the board of the commission.
“That the authors of those false, malicious, reckless, provocative, inciting, dangerous, satanic and retrogressive statements and publications, particularly Mr. Gbubemi Awala and Alvin Yalaju of the Itsekiri Interest Group (IIG) and Amachi Ogbonna of the Warri Consultative Forum (WCF) should own up to their evil acts, seek for mercies and forgiveness from God and henceforth cease from causing confusion in the Niger Delta Region”.