Senate Rejects Osita Izunaso, 3 Other NDDC Nominees Sent By Buhari

A former senator, Osita Izunazo, has declined nomination as a member of the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, the Senate was told on Tuesday, Premium Times reports. 


Peter Nwaoboshi (PDP-Delta) who presented the report of the committee which screened President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominees for the board of the NDDC, told the Senate Mr. Izunazo voluntarily declined nomination on the grounds of fairness and justice.

Mr. Nwaoboshi reported Mr. Izunazo to have taken the decision because he was not from an oil producing community in Imo State.

However, two other persons who are not from oil producing communities in their respective states turned up for screening and wanted to be confirmed.

The two persons are Donatus Eyinnah, Abia State; and Olatokunbo Ajasin, Ondo State.

Both were rejected by the Senate.

During the debate, Eyinnaya Abaribe (PDP-Abia State) said Section 2(1) (b) of the NDDC Act stipulated that nominees for the board of the commission must be from communities where oil is produced.

The lawmakers rejected an argument by the Senate Whip, Sola Adeyeye (APC-Osun), that a nominee should be cleared if he came from an oil-producing state and not necessarily the oil producing part in the state.

Mr. Nwaoboshi told the Senate that the nomination of Mr. Ajasin, who is from Owo, faced stiff opposition from Ilaje and Ese Odo people whose communities produce oil. They were said to have protested to the venue of the screening.

Then, another nominee, Igo Weli, was rejected on the grounds that his nomination was wrongful in the first place.

Therefore, the Senate confirmed 15 nominees, and rejected four.

Victor Ndoma-Egba, Cross River State; and Nsima Ekere, Akwa Ibom State; Adjogbe Samuel, Delta State; and Mene Derek, Rivers State, were confirmed for the positions of Chairman, Managing Director, Executive Director (Project) and Executive Director (Finance and Administration) respectively.

Those appointed as members of the board by the Senate were Frank George, Akwa Ibom; Brambaifa Nelson, Bayelsa; Sylvester Nsa, Cross River; Ogaga Ifowodo, Delta; Uwuilekhue Saturday, Edo; Harry Dabibi, Rivers; Bernard Banfa, North-Central; Yahaya Mohammed, North-East; and Mustapha Dankadai, North-West.

Mahmoud Isa-Dutse, Federal Ministry of Finance; and Abdul-Kazeem Bayero Federal Ministry of Environment, were also confirmed but the Senate resolved that the duo would cease to be NDDC board members should they be redeployed to another Ministry.

Also, on Tuesday, Buhari requested the Senate to consider and confirm nomination of seven persons as chairman and commissioners of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission in accordance with Section 34 of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act.

The nominees are Akintunde Akinwande, South-West, as Chairman; Sanusi Garba, North-West as Vice Chairman. The Commissioners are Nathan Shanti, North-East; Moses Arigu, North-Central; Dafe Akpeneye, South-South; Frank Okafor, South-East; and Musiliu Oseni South-West.