Prominent Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark has called on President Bola Tinubu to remove Abia, Imo and Ondo states from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
According to the elder statesman during a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, the three states were initially included for the sake of convenience.
He argued further that the presence of Abia, Imo and Ondo States in the 2000 NDDC Act is a political aberration as they are not part of the Niger Delta.
Clark therefore called on President Tinubu to re-enact a new bill for the Niger Delta oil production states of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Edo, Cross River and Akwa Ibom because according to him, the three states have to be removed for the NDDC to succeed.
He said: “If NDDC is to succeed, the three states should be severed from the act.
“NDDC should remain the six original Niger Delta Coastal States. All other oil producing states should establish a relationship with the oil companies and Nigeria.
“This is particularly now that oil has been found in other parts of Nigeria including Anambra which is already producing 0.9%, Bauchi, Gombe, Nasarawa, Kogi, and Lagos States.
“They cannot therefore be part of NDDC.
“The NDDC Establishment Act 2000 signed by the then Senate President Chuba Okadigbo outlined the functions of the nine states and who should be the Executive Management.
“One should bear in mind that the addition of Ondo, Imo and Abia was a political aberration.
“For me to demand for the removal of Non-Niger Delta Oil Producing States from NDDC is for NDDC to succeed.
“The success of the NDDC is the success of Nigeria.
“There was a reason why Imo, Abia and Ondo were brought into NDDC. Geographically they are not niger delta; they are not coastal states. It was a political aberration.
“The Federal Government should make arrangements to accommodate them as it is in NDCC same principle to be used not to disorganised the NDDC we want to succeed.”
The elder statesman argued further that it is unreasonable for states that are in the minority and produce little oil to be aspiring to become the Chairman or Managing Director of the NDDC or demand the removal of of the leadership that has already been approved by the Senate.
“A situation where a minority shareholder in a limited liability company would like to be a managing director of the company, it is unreasonable, improper, and chaotic.
“That is the main reason why I said no.
“It is not possible for a minority shareholder of even 5 per cent to be the Chairman or Managing Director of the limited liability company.
“It will be unfair and inequitable for a state that produces 1.02 per cent to produce managing director of the NDDC.
“I know Nigeria as we are, the tendency will be to develop their own minority oil producing state to develop their area at the expense of the majority of oil producing states which incidentally happen to sum up to over 90 per cent of the oil.
“It is therefore, unreasonable, provocative and selfish for Imo which produces only 1.02 per cent quantum of oil to demand removal of the Chief Executives of NDDC Board that has been confirmed by the Senate,” Clark submitted.
