Onuesoke: Onochie Eminently Qualified to Head NDDC

Sylvester Idowu in Warri

A few  days after  the Senate confirmation of  the nomination of Ms  Lauretta Onochie as Chairman of Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC), a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Delta State gubernatorial aspirant, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, has said she was eminently qualified for the position.
Onuesoke, who spoke on the back drop of those opposed to her appointment during an encounter with newsmen in Asaba, Delta State, said Onochie, being an indigene of Delta, an oil producing state, was extremely qualified to be Chairman of the Board.
He recalled that, when she was nominated as INEC Commissioner, the people rejected her probably, because she was a card carrying member of APC and media aide to President Muhammadu Buhari  and  as such could be  partisan, adding that, “in this case of NDDC appointment, she deserved it because she is fully qualified.”

Congratulating Onochie on her deserved appointment,  Onuesoke stated, “Taken together, the appointment of the Chairman under the Act is not tied to an indigene  of an OIL Producing Area/Community, it is rather tied to states and the president has the prerogative of choosing who he wants from Delta State and Lauretta Onochie is his choice and in this case, a square peg in a square hole. You cannot import into the Act what it is not, therefore, Section 2 (1b) is inapplicable to the appointment of the Chairman.”

Onuesoke recounted that he watched, albeit absent-mindedly, a national television interview, where the position of the Act on the President’s nomination of Lauretta Onochie was described as unlawful, stressing that such a position was a misunderstanding of the Act as it relates to the said nomination.

“First, Section 2(1a) has the Chairman of the board standing on its own, while Section 2 (1b) stands alone, since both are not used conjunctively, they must be read as such. Second, Section 2(3) defines who is a member as stated in Section 2b (i-f), once again the Chairman is not defined along with the members.

“Third, Section 4 mentioned the office of the Chairman on the basis of States and not on the basis of an INDIGENE of Oil Producing area or community. Fourthly, Section 2, subsection 2 states that, ‘the president shall appoint chairman and other members’ again, the Chairman is separated from members as defined in 2 (1b)(i -f),” he stated.

He urged  Deltans to be grateful that  the appointment was given to their own person and not someone from another oil producing state like Bayelsa, Rivers and Ondo States among others.

“As a bonafide daughter of the oil-rich region, she knows where the shoe pinches the people and, as digital and social media aide of President Muhammadu Buhari for over seven years now, she is groomed enough to know the mindset of the president and his vision and mission for the good of the Niger Delta people,” Onuesoke disclosed.

Winners Emerge in  Road Music Challenge by CFAO YamahaTemitope  Taiye Fashoro  with her sonorous voice  recently emerged  winner of the Road Music Challenge  by CFAO Yamaha. The Incredible Kids  came second  while  the third place was occupied by  Kusagba Oluwadamilola  with her catchy lyrics and creaativity.
The first place winner went home with N1 million and  a 3.5kva Yamaha generator.The second place winner got N500,000 and a Crux Rev Motorcycle, while the contestant who came third won N250,000.
Commenting on the competition,  the Managing Director of CFAO Yamaha Motor Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Sylvia Omlenyi, said: “We are absolutely delighted that through the CFAO Yamaha team and the Road Music Challenge, the world is able to experience the creativity of the Nigerian youth, we are really glad to be celebrating alongside these vibrant youths and helping them climb a step higher to fulfilling their dreams’ CFAO Yamaha will also like to thank all the contestants for their hard work and encourage them to keep letting their creativity shine.”
According to the company, the challenge was  an interesting experience for both the CFAO Yamaha brand and the contestants.

It said: “The call for entries lasted from the 17th of October, 2022 till the 24th of November. It was a very competitive one with all the contestants bringing their best foot forward with their songs, rap and dance moves to win the grand prizes.

The Road Music Challenge spanned  six weeks and recorded over 450 entries. During the course of the Road Music Challenge, some entries were disqualified for flouting the rules of the competition. The Road Music Challenge had different stages till the final. The first stage was the entry stage with the contestants uploading on Instagram or Facebook their music or dance video using keywords: ‘vibes with Yamaha’ and ‘gbedu wey dey enter’ posting with the hashtag #roadmusicchallengeNG and #cfaoyamaha.”

“The first selection process for the winners was the selection of 50 entries based on the number of likes on their entry post and 20 more were selected based on their lyrical or content creativity. These 70 entries advanced to the next stage where the top 15 were selected by lyrical goddess Waje and veteran producer ID Cabasa based on creativity, lyrical content, flows and excellence. The videos of the top 15 were uploaded on CFAO Yamaha’s page where the final winners of the Road Music Challenge were selected based on likes on their post.

“As a way to wrap up the Road Music Challenge, on the 16th of December, 2022, the top  nine  contestants were invited to CFAO Yamaha’s office for the final showcase of the winners and prize presentation for everyone present.”