New Front Opens In NDDC War Over Budget

The raging war within the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC was on Tuesday morning set to open on a second front following moves by the management of the commission to defend the 2023 budget proposals before the senate.

GWG.ng reports that the feisty relationship between the board and the management had crystallized in the issuance of a query by the chairman, Ms Lauretta Onochie to the managing director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku over last Tuesday’s PPP summit organized by the management at Eko Hotel Lagos.

The majority of the board members led by Ms Onochie were absent at the summit where a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU was reached with an American company for the construction of a $15 billion rail network across the Niger Delta.

Ms Onochie in a feisty response had upon the directive of the presidency issued a query to the managing director over the MoU despite the fact that the Federal Executive Council, FEC had in 2021 awarded a railway contract for that purpose.

GWG.ng is, however, informed by sources close to the chairman and the MD of peace moves being made to calm the troubled waters which stakeholders in the region say is impeding the development of the Niger Delta.

The crisis it was gathered has flowed from different perspectives in the running of the NDDC by the Onochie led board and the management with two of the executive directors allegedly flowing along with the MD.

With the issue of the railway PPP yet unsettled, the managem

ent is set to defend the 2023 budget before the Senate on Tuesday. It was gathered that a number of top NDDC officials are already on ground in Abuja for the defence.

However, Ms Onochie has according to sources claimed ignorance of the budget.

The former presidential aide it was gathered has threatened to again come out to disown the budget just as she did with the railway PPP with the American company, a development that stirred the presidency into intervening in the war in the NDDC.

GWG.ng reports that should Ms Onochie publicly disown the budget, that it could escalate the war and set the basis for a radical last minute move by the Muhammadu Buhari administration to tinker with the NDDC Establishment Act towards restructuring the organizational structure of the intervention agency.

Proposals in that direction it was gathered are already in the works.

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