By Davidson Iriekpen
Rivers State Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, has described the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as a cash cow for politicians, accusing the commission of doling out N10billion to stop his re-election in 2019.
Wike insisted that the ongoing probe of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the commission should be expanded to involve activities of previous managements.
The governor, who spoke in a live television interview, said though he was not in a position to suggest to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) how to run the commission, the existing approach of involving politicians in the affairs of NDDC would continue to be counter-productive.
Wike said politicians must stay away from the NDDC, noting that only technocrats should be used to manage the commission to enable it live up to its mandate of developing the Niger Delta region.
“I have said before and it is very clear; my concern is, everyone knows that the NDDC was set up for the development of the region.
“Unfortunately, they have turned it into a different thing. NDDC is a cash cow for politicians.
“When they are talking about probing the IMC, I said why only the IMC? What about the other guy, Prof. Brambaifa and the rest of them. In my own election, NDDC brought N10billion cash to fight against us. They haven’t invited us”.
Wike said he faulted the method adopted by NDDC in project execution and took them to court on the need to consult with the state government before executing its projects.
He said the government won its court case against the NDDC with a judgment that the NDDC must consult the state government before embarking on any project in Rivers State.
