Who actually authorized the purported sack of the NDDC board? Could it have been President Muhammadu Buhari? These are questions that are being asked as doubts begin to emerge over the authenticity of a statement, which said early in the week that the President had set up a new team at the Commission. The statement signed by Olusegun Adekunle, a Permanent Secretary in the office of the Secretary to Government had named Dr Pius Obudu as the Chairman of the NDDC and Bernard Okumagba as the subtantive Managing Director. Maxwell Okoh was named as the Executive Director, Finance and Administration while Otobong Ndem came on board as the Executive Director, Projects. Thus far, the Presidency which is supposedly at the centre of the storm at the NDDC hasn’t reacted. But it is evident that the mainstream media which has suddenly gone quiet would be waiting for answers soon as the President’s aircraft touches down on Nigerian soil. It is not clear if there has been any formal contact with the mass media by the authorities. Available media content suggest that most mainstream news organs seem to have put matters pertaining to the NDDC on hold. It is equally doubtful that the documentation process promised by the statement has taken place. Observers say the fight over the NDDC is about 2023. A cabal intent on cutting Rotimi Amaechi to size is believed to be masterminding the situation, according to political sources that have spoken with the Telegraph. “It is all about 2023. They feel Amaechi would be influncial when that time arrives”, a party source claimed. “To achieve their aim, the plan is to mess him up and where possible, destroy him”, the source added. President Buhari is away in Japan making deals that are expected to create more opportunities for the nation’s economy. Nigeria appears to be keenly interested in technology, the development of infrastructure and agriculture. TICAD 7, the Buhari administration reckons, would offer the corridor that it needs to strengthen the Nigerian economy and subsequently place it on a pedestal of growth. Already, Buhari has extended invitations to Japanese investors to visit the country. At the NDDC, there appears to be a lock down. Neither has the old or new team stepped into the premises, meaning that the last is yet to be heard. Across the Niger Delta, there are ripples, but analysts think the President would have the last word when he returns to the country.