Delta North communities reject composition of NDDC board

*Niboro knocks critics *Okowa approves N1.5b for UBEC

Communities in oil-producing Ndokwa/Oshimili of Delta State have rejected the composition of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) board by the Federal Government.

The indigenes hit the streets of Asaba yesterday in protest against the recent composition of the board, urging the state governors to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to reconsider the list.

In a protest letter addressed to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, the communities stated that the Federal Government had continued to treat them “like serfs that hew wood and draw water without any benefits whatsoever.”

The letter signed by the chairman, John Obi; organising secretary, Ben Elu; and others claimed that since the inception of NDDC in year 2000, the Ndokwa/Oshimili axis of the state had not benefitted in terms of appointment into the board of the interventionist agency.Addressing the placard-wielding protesters at the Government House, Asaba, Senior Political Adviser to the Governor, Mr. Funkekeme Solomon, appealed to them to give peace a chance, assuring that their message would be conveyed to the appropriate quarters.

However, All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Olorogun Ima Niboro, has dismissed criticisms launched against the new NDDC board as uncharitable. Niboro told The Guardian that Buhari should rather be commended for sacking the former caretaker committee for a proper board.

He pointed out that the former NDDC team had become part of the problem, rather than the solution, to the crisis in the Niger Delta, hence it was nice to show them the way out.

In another vein, the state government has approved N1.5 billion as counterpart fund for Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).Addressing journalists in Asaba at the end of the State Executive Council (SEC) meeting, Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu, said the approval was one of the decisions taken at the meeting presided over by Okowa.

According to Aniagwu, the meeting also approved the establishment of one primary school and one secondary school in Asaba to increase access to education by children in the capital city.