The office of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Bayelsa state has been locked by members of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) over the federal government’s failure to constitute the agency’s board.
WITHIN NIGERIA learnt that the youths staged a protest in Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa and also blocked some roads leading to the office.
This follows the expiration of the one-month ultimatum which they had given to the federal government to constitute a governing board for the NDDC.
They accused the Buhari administration of undue interference in failing to constitute the board.
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had, in January 2019, ordered a forensic audit of the operations of the NDDC from 2001 to 2019.
He said what is on the ground in the Niger Delta does not justify the huge resources that have been made available to the commission.
In October 2019, Buhari appointed an interim committee to oversee the affairs of the commission, pending the conclusion of the agency’s audit.
He had also said the constitution of the board will aid the empowerment of youths in the region, adding that the IYC will ensure the NDDC is not controlled by politicians.