A foremost political strategist and former member of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Olise Enebeli Imegwu has described as uninformed and unfortunate, Chief Okenmor Tilije’s comment, during a television programme in which he faulted Lauretta Onochie’s nomination as the prospective chairman of the governing board of the NDDC, based on the fallible premise of her not being an indigene of oil mineral producing community.
The former federal legislator, who is also 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 state”, he said.
He further emphasised that Chief Tilije was 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”, the former Speaker submitted.
