Bukola 
Following the appointment of the Board members and management team for Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by the Presidency, the people of Cross River State yesterday rejected the appointment of Mr Asu Oku Okang as nominee from the state.
They noted that Okang was a staunch and active member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and not the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The people through a statement issued by APC Legacy Group and Affiliates and signed by Asuquo Ani Okokon (JP), accused the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamala, of working with the former Governor of Rivers State and now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to compromise the nominee of the state submitted to the Presidency by Governor Bassey Otu, for Okang.
In an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, entitled, ‘Appointment of Board Members to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC): Matters Arising’ and signed by Okokon, the group expressed displeasure over the development. It noted that it was the same thing that played out during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, that now also being repeated.
The statement reads: ‘‘It is rather sad that what has become the order of the day is that the Office of the Chief of Staff and powerful interest within the Presidency and the ruling party’s hierarchy, have turned this process into money spinning exercise, enriching themselves by selling these positions to the highest bidders.
‘‘We in Cross River State have it on good authority and with hard facts and evidence that the member representing Cross River State in NDDC board, Mr Asu Oku Okang, who is a staunch and card carrying member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Cross River State, was foisted on the state by the former Governor of Rivers State and now Minister for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike and the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.”