The Niger Delta Oil and Gas Producing Communities Forum has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to "as a matter of utmost importance, urge the Senate to screen and confirm" the nominees for the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, earlier sent to the Senate by Mr. President "for appointment" to enable "effective delivery of development in the region."

The Forum made the appeal in a press statement that was signed by its Chairman and Secretary, Chief Sheriff Mulade, and Hon. Goodness Gereghewei, from Delta and Bayelsa States, respectively, and made available to PENGlobal Community.

The Forum, in the press statement, while it congratulated President Tinubu on his victory at the presidential poll and in the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal; also recalled the President's act in forwarding for screening and confirmation members of the NDDC Board to Senate bit which has not been acted on.

"It would be recalled that Mr. President nominated fresh chairman and members of NDDC Board on 29th August, 2023, subject to the Senate screening and confirmation, for appointment into the NDDC Board, as enshrined in the ACT.

"However, since the Senate was on recess, nothing much has been done in that regard, and we expected that screening and confirmation of the NDDC nominees would be the first set of nominees to be screened and confirmed," the statement reads.

The Forum further stated that its push for the immediate screening and confirmation of the nominees is to avoid a repeat whereby "sole administrators and acting managing directors of the Commission" ran its affairs and led to the people of the region being deprived of "development and economic growth".

It therefore appealed to President Tinubu prevail on the Senate to do the needful while it also appreciated President Tinubu for picking the best as nominees for the NDDC Board. 

"We wish to strongly appeal to Mr. President to kindly, as a matter of utmost importance, urge the Senate to screen and confirm these nominees for appointment to avoid a replay of nightmarish experience.

"Finally, we further wish to commend Mr. President for picking some of the best brightest as nominees on the new NDDC Board [who] are persons of good reputations and integrity.

"We appeal to Mr. President to kindly consider the constitution of the board as a matter of urgency and forward the nominees list to the Senate for Screening / confirmation so that the Board could be fully represented by all the member States for effective delivery of development in the region," the Forum added in its appeal.

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