The National Assembly has been advised to allow a smooth running of the forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari for the interest of the oil rich region.
Speaking after a joint National Executive Council meeting of the Patriotic Forum of Niger Delta (PAFOND) and its counterpart, Niger Delta Indigenous People Network (NDIPN) in Port Harcourt on Sunday, described the current posture of the National Assembly regarding the expose by Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio as ‘a distraction in the name of probe’.
In a communique jointly signed by National Chairman of PAFOND, Mr. Owo Udo and National Coordinator of NDIPN, Mr. Daniel Wilson, the groups accused the National Assembly of shielding some personalities from being probed.
“How can they focus on probing only 81billion Naira and Interim Management Committee which is just five months old office and left over 5 trillion Naira that had been embezzled by some persons from the region for over 19 years with abandoned projects littered all over the region?”, they queried.
The group appealed to the Presidency to ignore calls emanating from some quarters to remove the NDDC from the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, adding that the Commission would make meaningful impact under the supervision of the Ministry than being in the Presidency.
“Let me tell you that with our findings, we have seen that the NDDC headquarters that was abandoned for 20 years now is 90% completed under few months of Godswill Akpabio supervision with the Interim Management Committee”, they submitted.
The communique alleged that the corruptions and lootings in the Commission occurred while it was under the Presidency because, according to the groups, the presidency was overburdened with many issues and could not give adequate supervision of the Commission.
“We therefore appeal to Niger Deltans and stakeholders, especially the youths, to give the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio needed support to actualize his developmental plans for the region for the interest of future generation.
“This is the time to avoid being distracted by antics of those who want to doeverything possible to frustrate the good intention of the Minister and President Buhari for the region”, the groups said.
