**Date:** September 5, 2023
*Ondo State, Nigeria:*
The Ondo State Chapter of the Ijaw National Congress (INC) has voiced its opposition to the appointment of Hon. Ifedayo Abegunde as the Executive Director, Corporate Services of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Abegunde hails from Akure South Local Government in Ondo State.
In a statement, the Chairman of INC, Ondo State Chapter, Hon. Bonsuwe Ogonobibi Ominidougha, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for promptly constituting the NDDC Board. However, he expressed displeasure over Abegunde’s appointment, arguing that it contravenes the NDDC Act of 2000, Section 12, Subsection 1.
The NDDC Act stipulates that the Managing Director (MD) and the Executive Directors (ED) of the Commission must be indigenes of oil-producing states. It further specifies that these positions should rotate among member states in order of oil production.
Ominidougha pointed out that Ondo State presently has two oil-producing Local Government Areas, Ese-Odo and Ilaje. Since Hon. Otito Atikase has been appointed from Ilaje Local Government Area, Ominidougha argued that the Executive Directorship position should rightfully go to Ese-Odo Local Government Area.
He noted that the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC), which manages 40 percent of the 13 percent Oil Derivation Fund to the state, has its Chairman and Secretary from Ilaje and Apoi, respectively. In light of these considerations, INC, Ondo State Chapter, believes that the Executive Director, Corporate Services (NDDC), should be given to an Arogbo-Ijaw man.
The INC Ondo State Chapter called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Ondo State Government, and well-meaning Nigerians to support their plea for the appointment of an Arogbo-Ijaw individual to the Executive directorship position of the NDDC. They emphasized the principles of justice, fairness, fair-play, and equity in their argument against Abegunde’s appointment.
The statement further invoked President Tinubu’s reputation for constitutionality, law and order, justice, fairness, and equity, urging him to consider the marginalized Ondo State Ijaws for the role.
The Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency consists of Ilajes, Arogbo-Ijaws, and Apoi-Ijaws, and the INC Ondo State Chapter believes that the Arogbo-Ijaw people have not previously occupied such a key position in both NDDC and OSOPADEC.
