Adibe Emenyonu in Benin
The Paramount Ruler of the Great Idjerhe Kingdom of Delta State, His Majesty, King Obukowho Monday Whiskey, Udurhie I, again at the weekend, called for urgent inauguration of the already screened Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The traditional ruler, while bemoaning the pitiable activities at the commission, contended that the step would in a big measure try to resuscitate and rekindle hope of the people whose regional resources, he alleged, were criminally plundered by the leadership of Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
In statement made available to journalists in Benin City, the traditional ruler, called on the federal government and the immediate past Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, to account for over N700 billion allocation to NDDC in the last three years.
He said, “Having voluntarily resigned as Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, our beloved son, Obong Godswill Obot Akpabio should come out clean to explain to fellow Niger Deltans the whereabouts of the three years running budgetary allocations of the NDDC which inside sources claimed were more than N700 billion.
“The federal government and former Minister Akpabio who held the region perpetually captive and denied her of her developmental agenda because of an inglorious forensic audit that never brought out anything should now explain to our people of our collective regional wealth.”
Obukowho further stated: “The father of the nation, Mr. President must have seen now that those he entrusted with the developmental agenda of the oil and gas bearing communities of Nigeria had their own nefarious intentions to swindle and cause more havoc and deny the people their collective dreams of development.”
According to him, “It is instructive to note, Mr. President, that three options are still available to the federal government of Nigeria. The first being the immediate inauguration of the screened and confirmed Board of the NDDC under the Chairmanship of Dr. Pius Egberavwe Odubu and MDship of Olorogun Bernard Okumagba.
“Secondly, immediate dissolution of the illegally constituted Sole Administrator that is alien to the NDDC Act 2000, and thirdly, every of the allocation to the NDDC from 2019 to 2022 except for those used for staff salaries and sundry expenses, every other monies of the over N700 billion be recovered from whoever were part of the Macabre dance of shame in the past four years.”
