Our employment, promotion follow due process, says NDDC

LAGOS, Nigeria – The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has stated that its employment and promotion exercises follow laid down rules and procedures.

A source close to the Human Resources Directorate of the Commission, at the headquarters in Port Harcourt, dismissed insinuations that the rules may have been bent for some persons.

The source distanced the NDDC from a statement credited to Mrs. Waaka Lebari, the Press Secretary to the former NDDC Acting Managing Director, Gbene Dr. Joi Nunieh, claiming that the employment and promotion of the Director Legal Services of the commission, Mr. Peter Claver Okoro, did not follow due process.

He disclosed that Okoro’s employment was approved by the Dr. Tarila Tebepah-led board, while his promotion was endorsed by the Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba-led board.

According to him, at the time Okoro joined the NDDC, the position of Deputy Director Legal Services was vacant, adding: “The position was advertised and this prompted interested candidates, including Okoro, to apply. He wrote the appropriate examination, passed and was subsequently interviewed before his employment.”

He observed: “It is important to note that the entire exercise was backed by a Board resolution. The process was transparent as the exams took place at the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, RUST, while the oral interview was held at Protea Hotel, Port Harcourt.

“Before joining the NDDC, Okoro was an Assistant Director in the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, and he was adjudged the best candidate in the tests for the Deputy Director category.

“It is, therefore, diversionary to resort to attacking the credibility of the recruitment and promotion process in NDDC.”

The NDDC official said that the management of the commission led by the Acting Managing Director, Professor Kemebradikumo Daniel Pondei, was very meticulous and uncompromising when it came to following laid down rules and procedures.