By Adedayo Akinwale
The South-south Emerging Leaders Forum has said that the Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, should not be crucified following the sack of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the appointment of Mr. Effiong Akwa as the Sole Administrator of the agency by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The National Coordinator of the Forum, Mr. Preye Johnson, in a statement issued yesterday explained that the appointment of Akwa was done in line with the Act setting up the commission.
The forum noted that a critical analysis of the development has revealed that the few persons who are against the recent appointment were doing so for their personal gains.
It stated: “As a non-partisan group, we have carefully studied the situation and conclude that the decision to appoint a sole administrator is patriotic and in the best interest of the region.
“This is not the first time that a Sole Administrator is being appointed for the NDDC. It will be recalled that in 2015, the Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi appointed Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, an Ijaw woman and his former aide as a Sole Administrator of NDDC after sacking the Dan Abia-led management of the commission.
“Our appeal to the entire people of the Niger Delta is to support the new leadership of the NDDC to deliver on its mandate and supervise to completion the ongoing forensic audit ordered by the federal government.”
