NB247
Ondo State representative at the Niger Delta Development Commission, Otito Atikase, has replied those calling for his sack at the NDDC, saying his removal would not amount to any damage to his life.
A coalition of youths and women organisations in the oil producing communities of Ondo State had alleged that Mr Atikase was not representing them effectively, demanding that he be replaced at the board.
The group accused him of nepotism, having cornered employment opportunities only for his immediate family members.
While speaking to NB247 on the allegations, Mr Atikase said he was not perturbed by the sundry allegations.
”If the president removes me, I won’t die. They don’t deserve response,” he said.
”If the president removes me I will go to my home.”
Mr Atikase is a former member of the Ondo State House of Assembly, a former Chairman of Ilaje LGA and a former Senior Special Assistant to the Ondo State Governor.
He was appointed as replacement of a member of the board of the NDDC in September 2023 after President Tinubu dropped Victor Akinjo, following intense protest by members of the All Progressives Congress in the state.
In a letter addressed to the President and signed by over 30 people from the oil producing communities, the group alleged that o alleges that Hon. Atikase diverted millions of naira meant for the 2023 and 2024 NDDC Youth Empowerment Programmes in Ondo State, channeling them through proxy accounts of his nominees.
The group alleged that the member reportedly boasted that the funds were his “personal entitlement.”
They also accused him of diverting relief materials sent to the oil-producing communities by the NDDC to assist victims of environmental degradation — selling them off for personal gain.
“These acts of greed and abuse, represent a betrayal of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu’s administration and a cruel exploitation of the people’s pain,” the group asserted.
The coalition further asserted that Hon. Atikase had lost all credibility and public confidence, and that his continued stay on the NDDC Board was an “embarrassment to the government and the people of Ondo State.”
“The NDDC was established to restore hope and drive development in the Niger Delta, not to serve as a personal treasury for selfish appointees,” the group stated