Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio has decried lack of harmony between Niger Delta Development Commission’s development agencies and state governments in the region.
Akpabio stated this Friday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital during the opening ceremony of the 4th meeting of the National Council on Niger Delta.
He lamented that “Some state Governors have sent thugs to chase NDDC contractors out of the site even when they have no budget to develop that particular infrastructure. So when that happens, how can that lead to harmony?
“This leaving of domain is not as a result of the fact that they don’t want the infrastructure but because of political differences.
“My own belief is that development should not have column, development should not have political party because what the people need is infrastructure, whether you are in harmonious relationship or not, give the people what they need; they also need employment.
“So many governments come and go, and you don’t see a single industry on ground.
“We have a budget through the year. The NDDC looks at the budget, and stakeholders approach the NDDC to say that the state governments have left a developmental plan if they could get assistance and as an intervention agency we will say we will come take care of it. It is that time the state governments will say that they have planned to do it in the next two years that we must leave their domain.”
Commenting on the appointment of sole administrator for NDDC, the Minister urged Nigerians to stop referring to President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointment of a sole administrator for NDDC, as ‘illegality.’
Describing it as wrong to refer to President’s appointment as illegality, Akpabio explained that “Even the first executive director of finance and administration acted as sole administrator of NDDC at various times. We have also had a sole administrator from Rivers State in the person of Sime Tare, we have also had one from Cross River State, as well as Mrs Enya from Bayelsa State while awaiting the confirmation of a board.
“It’s not correct that the NDDC has done well, they have not done well, even in my time as Governor they didn’t do well.
“But the appointment of a sole administrator for the NDDC today cannot be regarded as illegality.”
The former Senate Minority leader stressed that there was need to look at the developmental challenges of the region before talking about the board, maintaining that the board is just a conglomeration of appointees from politicians.
He stated that governors from the Niger Delta region had told the President that they wanted a forensic audit of the NDDC before going ahead to bring on a board.
The Minister observed that the ideal of interim management was to oversee the audit so that the result will be given to the new board for implementation and assured that a new board of NDDC was still coming.
“But the question is, after 19 years of board what have we got to show?” Akpabio added.
According to him, “Today Buhari realised that there was need to reposition the NDDC to meet the yearnings and aspiration of people in the region and instituted a forensic audit which is different from statutory audit”
“The forensic audit is aim at asking questions about why are we here? Where we are now? Otherwise the NDDC was dripping to a total collapse.
“We believe strongly that at the end of that exercise we will come up with workable recommendations, nobody is going to be a permanent Minister or President but let us create a structure for posterity to judge us. This is where I think the President should be commended.”
