Former Niger Delta militants under the aegis of Niger Delta Development Front on Monday declared their support for the nomination of Charles Ogunmola from Ondo State as Executive Director, Projects at the Niger Delta Development Commission, by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
The ex-agitators throw their weight behind the nominee in a statement signed by their National Coordinator, National Secretary and National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ovie Bobarakuie, Chief Kingsley Ebiowou and Dr. Solomon Orighomisan.
The ex-militants said those opposing Ogunmola’s nomination are politicians who have been rejected by their constituents.
On the argument that NDDC board positions are meant to be occupied by only indigenes of villages where there’s crude oil, the ex-agitators said states are the oil-producing areas boldly mentioned in the NDDC Act, not the local government areas or villages where crude oil is explored because such will cause ethnic disunity if allowed to happen.
The ex-militants said members of its group are more interested in the social development of oil-producing areas and not where nominees for NDDC board come from.
“For the umpteenth time, we restate again that the choice of Ogunmola will not deny the oil-producing communities in the state the benefits accruable to them because he has a name to protect. By the way, there are indigenes of Ilaje LGA serving on the cocoa board in Ondo state yet no community in Ilaje or Ese-Odo has a cocoa plantation. It’s the same thing for precious minerals like limestone and bitumen which Ilaje does not have yet its sons and daughters serve on the boards controlling some of these minerals with no eyebrow from any of the communities producing them for the purpose of unity and stability in the state.
“It’s our belief that the distinguished senate will ignore the ignoble gang up against Ogunmola now and follow its own precedent in confirming his nomination just like it did in the case of H.E Ekere and Ogochukwu in the past to promote and deepen ethnic unity in Ondo State, on one hand, and the other hand, not to disgrace President Buhari by rejecting his nominee on the altar of a petty and ridiculous premise that is out of tune with the intention of the Act governing the commission. We urge the distinguished senate not to succumb to blackmail and empty threats from parasitic politicians masquerading as non-existing ex-militants in the state.”
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