NDDC: Ex-Niger Delta Militants Back Buhari’s Nominee from Ondo, Ogunmola, Carpet Ondo Senators

Fidelis David in Akure

Some former Niger Delta militants from seven states under the aegis of Niger/Delta Development Front (NDDF) have declared their support for the nomination of Mr. Charles Ogunmola from Ondo State as the executive director of Projects at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The ex-agitators in a statement signed by their National Coordinator, National Secretary and National Publicity Secretary, Ovie Bobarakuie, Chief Kingsley Ebiowou and Dr. Solomon Orighomisan respectively, carpeted the three senators from Ondo State who rejected the nomination of Ogunmola during his screening at the Senate last week because there’s no oil in his community, stating that: “These senators are merely seeking cheap popularity after their earlier rejection by their constituents.”

The state Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, had also supported the rejection of the nomination of Ogunmola by the three senators representing the state in the National Assembly.

However, the group said the Senate had in the past screened and confirmed Mr. Nsima Ekere from Akwa Ibom State and

Chief Onyema Ugochuckwu from Abia State as managing directors of NDDC respectively, and thus, argued that the rejection of Ogunmola would create a bad precedent if such happens.

Mocking the senators, NDDF said the three senators from Rivers State rejected the nomination of former Governor Rotimi Amaechi as minister in 2015 but the Senate confirmed Amaechi and heaven did not fall.

On the argument by Ondo Senators 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 group specially carpeted the senator representing Ondo South senatorial district, Nicholas Tofowomo, for threatening to mobilise what they tagged ‘faceless’ Niger Delta militants to resume destruction of public property and peace should Ogunmola be confirmed by the Senate, urging security agencies to hold the senator responsible should there be any breakdown of law and order in Ilaje/Ese Odo council areas of the state.

NDDF, which said the members of its group are more interested in the social development of oil-producing areas and

not where Ogunmola comes from within Ondo State, stated that if nominations should be done by where oil is being explored, then Mr. Gbenga Edema from Ilaje Local Government Area whom President Buhari nominated as a Commissioner to represent Ondo State on the board of NDDC should be dropped because there’s no oil in his village in Ilaje LGA.

The statement titled: ‘NDDC: Mr. Charles Ogunmola’s ill-advised rejection by Ondo Senators, fake ex-militants’ threat and matters arising’, read in parts: “We at the NDDF, a group of over 400 ex-Niger Delta agitators from Delta, Bayelsa, Ondo, Rivers, Edo, Abia and Imo States respectively, are constrained to react to the ill-advised rejection of Mr. Charles Ogunmola, the President Buhari’s nominee for the position of Executive Director (Projects) on the board of NDDC by the three senators from Ondo State and leg-less threat by some faceless politicians masquerading as ex-militants to disrupt the peace in the state should the Senate confirm him.

“It’s pertinent to state that while we understand that the two PDP senators from Ondo Central and South merely played destructive oppositional politics by rejecting the nominee, the only APC Senator, Ajayi Boroffice, did so out of petty ethnic jealousy. A question for him: would he have rejected him if Ogunmola had been from any of the communities in Akoko Land where he is their Asiwaju?”

According to NDDF, “We condemn without equivocation the statement credited to Senator Tofowomo that Ilaje and Ese Odo youths will resort to violence and militancy should the Senate confirm the nomination of Ogunmola. We hereby put all security agencies in the state on alert in case of any eventuality in the aftermath that Ogunmola will be confirmed, to please hold Tofowomo responsible for any breakdown of law and order in Ese-Odo and Ilaje LGAs of the state. Tofowomo is from Ile-Oluji, far from Ilaje and Ese-Odo.

“By the way, what developmental programmes and projects has Senator

Tofowomo attracted to Ese-Odo and Ilaje LGAs since his election into the Senate in 2019 that he is now crying more than the bereaved?”