Delist Abia, Imo And Ondo States From NDDC, Clark Urges Tinubu

By Mark IDRAH

The leader of the Pan-Niger Delta Development Forum PANDEF, Chief Edwin Clark has called on president Bola Tinubu to expel  Abia, Imo and Ondo states from the NDDC.

Speaking in an interview with Arise TV morning show on Friday, Chief Clark said though the three states produces the lowest percent of oil amongst the other six states, they have the highest number of leadership positions in the board and noted that it's an anomaly.

According to Chief Clark, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States produces the highest percentage of oil in the region, but they are being shortchanged when it comes to leadership roles in the NDDC and condemned it.

 "We in the core Niger Delta states that produce the highest percentage of oil cannot continue to sit back and watch our people being shortchanged by those who are not just origins of the Niger Delta states, and also produces the lowest percent of oil.

We are calling on president Tinubu to remove the three states of Abia, Imo and Ondo from the NDDC and urge the National Assembly to amend the laws for the commission to operate with the already existing known six states of the Niger Delta which are Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Rivers State."

According to Chief Clark, since the creation of NDDC and the subsequent inclusion of Abia, Imo and Ondo State, they have benefited more from the commission than the other six states which are core Niger Delta states.

Chief Clark  said  though these three states have benefited so much from the NDDC, they have gone ahead to take the federal government and the commission to court, demanding much more. This isn't right and they must be stopped and expelled from the commission, he suggested.