Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, a leader and freedom fighter in the Niger Delta, has urged President Bola Tinubu to abolish the NDDC and reinstate the erstwhile Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC).
Dokubo-Asari claimed that the OMPADEC, which was founded in 1992 to develop and rehabilitate Nigeria’s Oil Mineral Producing Areas, was appropriate in light of the existence of oil-producing towns outside the Niger Delta.
He said:
“Mr. President, I am grateful and wish to commend your decision to reinstate the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. This decision shows your determination, reflects your deep understanding of the challenges and unique needs of the Niger Delta region, and demonstrates your commitment to addressing them.
“Mr. President, I know you are aware that Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission, OMPADEC, was established to rehabilitate and develop the Oil Mineral Producing Areas of Nigeria which had been subjected to the devastating effects of ecological destruction and environmental pollution, this means that oil-producing areas that are not geographically in the Niger Delta, are captured in the OMPADEC programmes.
“The change of nomenclature from OMPADEC to NDDC suggested that the commission was established to address the agitation of only oil-producing areas in the Niger Delta states of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers State.