A foremost political strategist and former Member, House of Representatives, Olise Enebeli Imegwu, has described Okemuo Tilije’s comment on NDDC board appointment as uninformed and unfortunate.
Tilije had, during a television programme, faulted Lauretta Onochie’s nomination as the substantive chairman of the governing board of the NDDC, based on the fallible premise of her not being an indigene of oil mineral producing community.
However, Enebeli a lawyer and speaker emeritus of the Delta State House of Assembly, observed that Tilije’s views can neither trivialise nor vitiate the extant procedure of nominating a chairman and members of the governing board of the NDDC.
“Chief Tilije simply gave his personal opinion which, at best symbolises crass ignorance of the NDDC act especially, Section 2 (1a) which states that the chairman of the board shall be from an oil mineral producing states,” he said.
Imegwu further emphasised that Chief Tilije is obviously incognizant of the fact that the President has the constitutional prerogative and latitude, to appoint a chairman from any of the oil mineral producing states in consonance with the enabling act.
“President Buhari is within the ambit of the Constitution and the enabling NDDC act to so appoint. Every well meaning Deltan should applaud President Buhari for appointing an indigene of the state as chairman of the body, because Delta State has been clamouring for her citizen to occupy that position,” he said.
