Niger Delta Group Alleges Plot to Truncate NDDC Board Inauguration

Deji Elumoye and Udora Orizu in Abuja

The 21st Century Youths of Niger Delta and Agitators with Conscience (21st CYNDAC), has alleged that plans have been made by political jobbers to truncate the inauguration of the substantive board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The group in a statement yesterday said that any attempt to truncate the inauguration would do the region and the commission no good.

It, therefore, urged the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to take his redemption mission of the NDDC to its logical conclusion by ensuring that the substantive board of the commission is sworn in.

The statement read in part: “The attempt by these political jobbers to truncate the inauguration is for their political and pecuniary gains and nothing else, of what benefit it will be for the people and the region? Nobody is talking about the prosecution of people found culpable of the decades long malfeasance, these rogues masquerading as stakeholders are only interested in planting people in the commission as a means of getting their hands on the cookie jar to fund their lifestyle.

“We use these medium to urge Mr. President to keep to his promise of cleaning the NDDC’s Augean stable by making the NDDC to benefit the people and the region, any attempt to allow fifth columnists to truncate the work of the forensic audit and further delay in inaugurating the substantive board will be of no benefit to the people and the region. The palpable restiveness and tension of the youths in the region is already being felt. We urge Mr. President to do the needful and deescalate the tension and agitations.

“Words on the street is that the minister is more amenable to running a one man show through the sole administrator vehicle which gives him unilateral power over the running of the commission. But the 21st CYNDAC are not in tandem with this submission taking cognisance of the forensic audit of the commission which is more or less the brainchild of the Honourable Minister, it behooves on the Minister to come clean on his plans for the inauguration so as not to give charlatans an avenue to rubbish his noble objectives about the commission to downsize the board of the commission is inimical to the representation of the various stakeholders in the region and thus is totally rejected by the 21st century youths of Niger Delta and Agitators with Conscience and other stakeholders in the region.”