Cross River APC faults appointment of ‘diehard PDP member’ to NDDC board

The Cross River branch of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has faulted the appointment of Asu Okang as a board member of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

On Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu appointed board members and a management team for the NDDC.

Okang was announced as the Cross River state representative on the board. 

In a statement signed by Emmanual Inyang, the APC assistant publicity secretary for Cross River, the party said the appointment of Okang was “annoying and politically suicidal”.

The chapter said Okang is a staunch member of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and that he fought APC members in Etung LGA during the 2023 electioneering campaigns. 

“Our dear party faithful, the attention of the party leadership in the state has been drawn to a list circulating on social and electronic media purported to be a list of the newly constituted board and management of the NDDC,” the statement reads.

“It is, however, shocking, annoying, appalling, revolting, abnormal, and politically suicidal for us in APC Cross River State to see the name of Mr Asu Oku Okang, a diehard PDP member, a known persecutor of our party, an enemy of APC, an unrepentant political opponent of our party.

“To now surreptitiously find his name in the list of Grade A (NDDC) board which is meant to reward loyal members of our party who sacrificed their resources, energy and time to ensure the victory of our party and all our candidates including our amiable President will not only kill the enthusiasm of our members but it will torpedo our party.

“The APC, Cross River State chapter in the strongest of terms rejects, disowns, and disassociates itself from the said list.

“If this is an innocent mistake on the part of those saddled with the responsibility of constituting Federal boards and Agencies, we humbly call on them to please correct this grievous error by removing, deleting and erasing the name of Mr. Asu Oku Okang as Representative of Cross River State on the board of NDDC.”

The Cross River APC also appealed to the national assembly not to ratify any NDDC board-members list that has Okang on it.