NDDC snubs Senate panel investigating sack of staffers

The Interim Management Committee (IMC) of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Monday snubbed the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs carrying out investigation on alleged illegal sack of some staffers of the commission between February and May this year.

The Senate had on May 5, 2020 on the strength of a motion sponsored by Senator George Sekibo (PDP Rivers East) over alleged financial recklessness and arbitrary sack of staff in NDDC,  mandated his committee on Niger Delta Affairs to investigate the sack aspect and assigned that of financial recklessness to an Ad-hoc Committee.

While the Ad-hoc committee had carried out its own investigation on the alleged financial recklessness against the current Professor Daniel Pondei-led NDDC IMC, the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs has not been able to get attention of the IMC members on alleged illegal sack of staffers.

Attempt made by the committee led by Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, Monday to carry out the investigation was stalled with the absence of the entire IMC members along with the Managing Director, Professor Pondei.

Signs that the IMC members would not appear before the committee emerged about 12:30 pm when none of them  was sighted at the venue of the planned investigative hearing in room 022 of the Senate wing of the National Assembly.

Even an attempt made by the committee to ensure the appearance of the IMC members before it two hours after by shifting the sitting to 3:00pm failed,  as none of them appeared about 3:20 pm when the session resumed.

Irked by the development, the committee chairman, Peter Nwaoboshi, asked the NDDC Director of Human Resources, Silas Anyanwu to offer an explanation for the development.

Anyanwu in his explanation said, the Managing Director of NDDC, Professor Pondei and other IMC members were held back at the House of Representatives wing of the National Assembly where they were being engaged in a similar investigation.

“For the past two hours sir , I have been communicating with the MD and some other IMC members but information reaching me , indicated that they are not allowed to leave the venue of a similar investigation going on in the House of Representatives ” ,he said.

Apparently not satisfied with the explanation , Senator Nwaoboshi reminded the Human Resources Director that the Monday sitting was the third attempt to get the IMC members to respond to a series of petitions written against them by the sacked staffers.

The session was consequently rescheduled to 1:00pm prompt on Tuesday, July 14 , 2020.

Leave a Reply