Crisis has again hit Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) following the jostle for the position of the Managing Director currently occupied by Bayelsa born Dr. Sam Ogbuku.
All was well with the agency as Ogbuku and other Directors were doing the biddings of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Ezenwo Nyesom Wike who turned the agency to his cash cow until recently when Ogbuku’s tenure was coming to an end.
Ogbuku who was looking forward to Wike’s reciprocal support to be reappointed as the Managing Director of the agency recently found out that the Minister was instead clandestinely rooting for another candidate from Delta State as it becomes the turn of Delta to produce the next helmsman for the Commission.
Armed with this information of the plot to truncate his ambition to return to the commission as Managing Director, Sam Ogbuku has strategically meandered his way into the high powers in Aso Rock where he is fighting all by himself to retain his position as the Meaning Director of the agency. These moves have already created a crack in the once coordinated team used by the FCT Minister to drain the agency in doing his biddings including paying the 27 defected lawmakers loyal to him in Rivers State.
Part of the fall out of this rumbling is the none payment of casual staff of the agency in the past one month which is breeding some uncomfortable grumblings amongst personnels of the agency.
Other feathers being ruffled, our reporter learnt include the seizure of Horlicks Event Centre sharing boundary with the agency which was said to be owned by one of Wike’s ally, Alabo George Kelly. The centre as learnt, was acquired by Kelly while serving as Principal Manager, Infrastructure, NDDC on behalf of the agency, but covetously converted the facility to personal use. The seizure has indeed brought a full blown conflict between Ogbuku and Wike as he is deliberately starving Wike’s men in the agency of funds including Boma Iyaye, who has been accused in one hand by the Wike camp of abandoning their cause.
Boma it was learnt is angry that he could not facilitate employment of his own people in the agency as only the Minister of FCT is fixing people from his own area especially in the last employment done. As it is Boma Iyaye has lost the power to influence any employment of his aides and others from his constituency.
Currently, the rumbling is taking it’s heavy toll on the agency as no meaningful activity is ongoing due to the division and avaricious pursuit of the leaders.
