Governors of the oil-producing states on Thursday met with President Muhammadu Buhari and expressed grave concerns over the crises in the oil region, especially the leadership crises in the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, while speaking to State House Correspondents after the closed-door meeting, however, did not give details of the discussions, but expressed hope that “the President will find solutions to the issues soon”.
“We have expressed our concerns about development in the oil-producing region and most of the issues we raised are well-known to Mr President and we know they are on top of it. We only hope that the issues will be addressed soon,” he said.
BusinessDay gathered however that some of the states are not happy over appointments into the board of the NDDC, which led to protests, a development that may affect activities in oil-producing communities
The Ondo State government is said to have threatened to take the government to court if the Federal Government failed to reverse plans to appoint an indigene of Delta State or any other state, except the State, as Managing Director of the Commission.
The state called on President Buhari to revert to the rotational arrangement as provided for in the NDDC Establishment Act of July 2000.
Dickson, while also speaking on the forthcoming November 16th Bayelsa Governorship election, urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to provide a level-playing field for all the candidates contesting the election.
“Bayelsa was known for its restiveness before I took over as Governor, but now, it is the most peaceful and stable state in Nigeria, more peaceful than Abuja, and we are concerned about keeping it that way.
“Everybody is happy about peace and development and will want to keep the place as peaceful. So, we call for free, fair, credible and peaceful election.”
Details later …
