Group defends Buhari’s NDDC appointments

Cross River State Youth for Leadership and Good Governance, has flayed the Niger Delta Volunteers (NDV), for recently calling on the National Assembly not to confirm Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), and Obong Nsima Ekere, as chairman and managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

President Muhammadu Buhari recently nominated the duo for the NDDC top jobs.

The NDV in their petition signed by its spokesperson, “Commander” Ekpo Ekpo, and five others, claimed that the duo were non-performers and were nursing gubernatorial ambitions in 2019.

But a statement by the National Coordinator of Cross River State Youths for Leadership and Good Governance, signed by Mr. Ifere Paul, dismissed the petition as baseless, hence should be ignored by the public

The group said; “We are not worried about the writers of the petition. Our worry is the millions of Nigerians who may have been misled by this malicious write up. The write-up did not capture the person or personality of Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN) at all. As Cross Riverians, we are very proud to talk about Ndoma-Egba (SAN) anywhere in the world.”

They pointed out that the senator did not spend 16 years in the senate as alleged by the petitioners, but put in 12 years of meritorious service to the people of Cross River State in particular, the Niger Delta region, and Nigeria in general. He was the Senate Leader, a position he held until his exit.

“While in the senate, Senator Ndoma-Egba spoke avidly on the deplorable conditions of all federal roads in the country, “a situation that led him to advocate the construction of the Trans-African highway from Ekok, in Cameroon to Enugu in Nigeria.

The group said Ndoma-Egba, who also introduced the Computer Literacy Development Initiative, that over 10,000 students have benefited from, till now, still bankrolls the Victor Ndoma-Egba Scholarship Scheme, a very popular scholarship initiative in the state, which has provisions for first degrees and Ph.D.

They added that as a lawmaker, Ndoma-Egba is credited with 38 Bills including: “the Freedom of Information Bill,” and many motions ranging from the Bakassi People, The Plight of Pensioners, and many more.