Groups drag President Buhari to court over new NDDC board

A coalition of groups under the umbrella of Concerned Civil Society Stakeholders (CCS) in Niger Delta had dragged President Muhammadu Buhari before the Federal High Court, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State over the constitution of the newly named Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Board.

The group in suit no FHC/UY/CS/353/2022 instituted before Justice Agatha Okeke also sought a restraining order against the inauguration of the newly-named board.

At a press conference in Uyo on Sunday, the national coordinator of the forum, Prince Ekpuk Jumbo, said the board contravenes relevant sections of the NDDC Act 2000.

The plaintiffs in the suit sought the following prayers:

“Whether the nomination and appointment of the Akwa Ibom representative, Dr Emem Wilcox Wills, on Board, is not an infraction of section 12 (1) of the NDDC Act?

“Whether the purported confirmation of the appointments of Chairman and other members, is not unlawful, null and void, and a crass infraction of the provisions of Section 12 (1) of the NDDC Act, 2000?”

Urging the President to allow equity, justice and fair play to prevail in the case, Jumbo pointed out that Section 12 (1) of the Act, says that: “There shall be for the Commission, a Managing Director and two Executive Directors, who shall be indigenes of oil-producing areas, starting with the member state of the Commission with the highest production of oil, and shall rotate amongst member states in the order of production.”

“Based on this extant and clear provision, the group, therefore, sought “an order of injunction restraining the defendants be it by themselves, servants, person or persons howsoever from further proceedings, sessions, meetings and deliberations howsoever in connection, and or relation to the purported confirmation of Chairman and other members of the NDDC Board,” the forum added.