A coalition group under the aegis of Concerned Civil Society Stakeholders (CCS) in Niger Delta, have dragged President Muhammadu Buhari, before the Federal High Court, Uyo, Akwa Ibom state, seeking a restraining order against the inauguration of the newly constituted Board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Speaking with newsmen in Uyo on Sunday, the National Coordinator of the coalition, Prince Ekpuk Jumbo, and seven other stakeholders, explained that the suit became necessary as a last resort to correct the inherent anomalies in the constitution of the new board of the Commission as it clearly violated relevant sections of the Act establishing the NDDC Act, in 2000.
In a suit number FHC/UY/CS/353/2022 before Justice Agatha Okeke, of the Federal High Court, Uyo Division, the plaintiffs, who are challenging the composition of the new Board, with Dr Emem Wilcox Wills, as the Akwa Ibom representative, sought the following prayers:
“Whether the nomination and appointment of the Akwa Ibom representative, Dr Emem Wilcox Wills, on Board, is not an infraction of section 12 (1) of the NDDC Act?
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“Whether the purported confirmation of the appointments of Chairman and other members, is not unlawful, null and void, and a crass infraction of the provisions of section 12 (1) of the NDDC Act, 2000.?”
The group urged President Mohammadu Buhari to allow equity, justice and fair play to prevail in the case pointing out that section 12 (1) of the Act, stated that: “There shall be for the Commission, a Managing Director and two Executive Directors, who shall be indigenes of oil producing areas, starting with the member state of the Commission with the highest production of oil, and shall rotate amongst member states in the order of production.”
The group, therefore, sought “an order of injunction restraining the defendants be it by themselves, servants, person or persons howsoever from further proceedings, sessions, meetings and deliberations howsoever in connection, and or related to the purported confirmation of Chairman and other members of the NDDC Board.
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