President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday in Abuja inaugurated the newly-constituted board of the Niger Delta Development Commission with a call on its members to stay clear of politics in their respective states.He said whoever wanted to hold any political office should be ready to quit the commission as the NDDC is too sensitive to be combined with political activities.Jonathan advised the members of the board to be mindful of the pitfalls of the dissolved board, saying he would not hesitate to wield the big stick if they engaged in the atrocities of their predecessors.According to the President, the former board did not only engage in political patronage and warfare, members camped all kinds of criminals in hotels in the name of helping politicians.To drive home his seriousness, Jonathan warned, If I hear that, I will be very angry with you. You must focus on the development of the Niger Delta. You are not sent there to solve political problems. On the new NDDC board are Dr. Christian Obo (Managing Director); L.E.J Konboye (Executive Director, Finance and Accounts); and Mr. Edikan Eshett (Executive Director, Projects).Others are Dr. Tarilah Tebepah-led board are Edward Orubo, Dr. Ibitamuno Aminigo, Oladele Omogbemi, Solomon Ogba, Imaobong Johnson, Aloysious Nwagboso, Peter Ezeobi, Dominic Edem, Osabon Imaru, Joe Jakpa, Senator Garba Lado, Rima Kwewum, Senator Tunde Ogbeha and the Minister of state for Finance and Minister of Environment.He said the new members were coming on board at a time that people were not pleased with happenings in the commission, adding that his experience with the last NDDC board was disturbing.He said, People were asked to go and see how they would use the little resources available to develop the people but there was so much of in fighting; they were fighting among themselves for reasons best known to them.As you take the responsibility, you will be able to know what caused the fight. I always believe that when you see people fighting unnecessarily, then there must be an element of greed in the whole thing.When you see people fighting, there must be an interest rather than the interest of the Niger Delta people, the Nigerian people, the interest of the nation and the interest of the world. So we dissolved that board based on the report.The President, however, clarified that the issues that led to the dissolution of the previous board were not about corruption but issues bordering on management.He said the feeling of the committee that looked into the activities of the last board was that there was no way the people could work together again and the best thing was for a completely new set of people to take over.He therefore asked the new board members to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors and refrain from playing politics with the development of the people.Jonathan said, Before this time, anybody who gets into NDDC wants to be governor of a state. I am beginning to see fight between actors in the NDDC and their states.This time around, we feel that we have to select people who we dont know their political interests because we want people who will go and develop the place. The day you feel you want to be the governor of your state or a senator, please let us know early enough so that you leave NDDC and go and pursue your political career. You cant combine the two because it is a sensitive body.I want to repeat it again; I dont want to hear NDDC camping political thugs in Hotel Presidential in Port Harcourt or any other hotel in Port Harcourt. It has happened over the period and I will no longer accept it.
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