A group, the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Stakeholders Forum, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint the next Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from Delta State in line with the subsisting rotational principle among the four core Niger Delta states.

National Coordinator of the group, Prince Maikpobi Okareme, who made the appeal, yesterday said: “Your Excellency should please maintain the rotational principle in appointing the management team of NDDC. The Managing Director should be given to any tested person from an oil-producing community in Delta State as the current highest producing state, accounting for over 30 per cent in Nigeria.”

Okareme, who was the pioneer secretary of Traditional Rulers of Oil Mineral Producing Communities of Nigeria, TROMPCON, added: “Bayelsa State should have one of the Executive Directors, preferably Executive Director, Projects, which they have not occupied before, while Akwa Ibom could have the Executive Director, Finance and Administration. “Rivers State should retain the position of Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs/Coordinator, Presidential Amnesty Programme.

This will ensure the maintenance of the full principle of derivation enshrined in the NDDC law and rightly followed since the year 2000.

“It is our sincere belief that retaining these four critical positions in the core Niger Delta states shall guarantee sustainable peace in the entire region which will be beneficial President Buhari’s administration.

“Recently, just as it was about six years ago, some undeserving personalities outside the core Niger Delta nursed the idea of superintending over the affairs of NDDC with a view to altering the agreement reached ab initio by the critical stakeholders at the formation of the commission.

“As at today, like in 1999 when NDDC was conceptualized, the four core Niger Delta states account for about 80 per cent of total oil production. In the spirit of fiscal federalism, all the nine-member states have one representative each on the Board of NDDC and could occupy the chairmanship position, which is rotational in alphabetical order, but on a part-time basis.

The position of Managing Director/CEO was meant to and should remain rotational on production quota among only the four core Niger Delta states, which coincidentally have 80 per cent collective production quota today, Delta alone is about 30 per cent,” he said.

Vanguard