A human rights Lawyer, Femi Falana, has called on the Federal Government to comply with the law setting up the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by putting in place a substantive Board for the Commission.

He said the plan to appoint another Interim Administrator or extend the illegal tenure of the incumbent is illegal and provocative, which would lead to security breach in the region.

He disclosed this in a statement while calling on the Federal Government to douse the growing tension in the area by putting in place the new board of the commission without any further delay and release the report of the forensic audit of the commission.

Falana faulted the reasons adduced by the Buhari-led government to justify the illegal appointment of Interim Administrators to run the affairs of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in contravention of the provisions of the Niger-Delta Development Commission (Establishment etc) Act, 2000, No. 6, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

The statement read: “Whereas the enabling law provides for the constitution of a Board made up of the representatives of the nine constituent states, the President has been appointing Interim Administrators to manage the NDDC.

The action of the Buhari administration is illegal, discriminatory and sectional.” Falana regretted that while the Board of the NDDC is yet to be inaugurated “the (Board) members of the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) were appointed by President Buhari, confirmed by the Senate and inaugurated on May 8, 2019.”

Recall that while receiving the leadership of Ijaw National Congress (INC) in Abuja on June 24, 2021, President Buhari had promised that the NDDC Board will be inaugurated once the forensic audit report was submitted.

The President said at that occasion that ‘‘based on the mismanagement that had previously bedeviled the NDDC, a forensic audit was set up and the result is expected by the end of July, 2021.

He also promised that as soon as the forensic audit report is submitted and accepted, the NDDC Board will be inaugurated.”

That report has been submitted to the President ten months ago, since September 2, 2021, yet the board has not been inaugurated.

According to him, “With the plan to appoint another Interim Administrator or extend the illegal tenure of the incumbent, several groups have threatened to embark on mass actions that may cause a breach of peace in the Niger Delta region.”

Falana warned that if the Federal Government “does not put an end to the impunity, it is undoubtedly clear that the appointment of the Interim Administrators and the actions taken by them including the award of contracts are liable to be set aside by the Federal High Court, sooner or later.