Wike faults National Assembly’s confirmation of ex-service chiefs as envoys

Blames NDDC’s poor performance on presidency, lawmakers

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, yesterday, faulted the National Assembly for confirming former service chiefs as ambassadors, insisting that it is unjustifiable to confirm officers who were sacked for poor performance. He said Nigerians were disappointed with the National Assembly for confirming the sacked service chiefs as envoys.

Wike, who stated this when members of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta visited him at Government House, Port Harcourt, wondered why senators, who agreed with Nigerians on the poor performance of the service chiefs, cleared them for another sensitive appointment.

“Most Nigerians are disappointed at the the Senate for that decision. Convey this to the National Assembly. We must be courageous in whatever we do. Everything must not be done on party affairs. Senators discussed and agreed that service chiefs should be dismissed because they were not performing.

“Now, the same people who couldn’t perform have been confirmed as ambassadors. What kind of country are we in? In anything we do, we must remember that there is tomorrow and our conscience must be key,” he said.

On the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Wike said the commission had abandoned its core mandate and left those who canvassed for its establishment disillusioned.

“I don’t like talking about the NDDC. It is unfortunate to the extent that if those who fought for it knew that this is what will become of the NDDC, I don’t think they would have asked for it,” he said.

He noted that over the years, various committees on NDDC at the National Assembly have not provided sufficient direction that would make the commission to focus on its core mandate of developing the region.

Governor Wike said some politicians have transformed the NDDC into a cash cow for prosecuting sinister political agenda, and accused the commission of spending N10b to unseat him from office, but that the scheme failed.

He noted that the presidency, National Assembly, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and some Niger Delta persons were part of the problem of NDDC, because they do not allow it to perform, saying: “We are enemies to ourselves.”

Speaking, Chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Delta, Peter Nwaoboshi, said they visited to assure Governor Wike, as host of NDDC, that the commission would be supervised to perform its core mandate.

“We are aware that you have some reservations with the NDDC based on your state’s previous relationship with the commission. We assure you that we will ensure that the aspirations and aims of creating the NDDC will be achieved.

“We will do everything possible within the limits of the constitution through our oversight functions to achieve its objectives,” he said.