The Ijaw Interest Advocates, IIA has called on people of the Niger Delta region to put up swift measures to see that the Niger Delta Development Commission is rescued from extinction.
In a statement by its National Coordinator, Arerebo Yerinmene on Saturday, the group called for the rescue mission to be extended to the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
Arerebo lamented the moribund state of the two intervention agencies under Senator Godswill Akpabio, the immediate past minister of the MNDA.
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The former Akwa Ibom governor recently resigned the office to vie for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress, but stepped down for eventual winner, Bola Tinubu at the eve of the contest.
Arerebo however, said Akpabio’s resignation is only the first step for people of the region to pursue a swift reinvigoration of the agencies.
The statement titled “NDDC AKPABIO’S TERROR REIGN: THE STRUGGLE IS NOT YET OVER, WE MUST GO TO THE SECOND PHASE TO RESCUE NDDC, NDM BACK FROM ABUJA,” reads in full.
“As Akpabio’s bows to the prayers of Niger Delta people and resigned, the mental terror is gradually winding up in the Niger Delta region. However, as a people we must set aside a special day to celebrate freedom from the disastrous claws of our evil son, Akpabio.
“Akpabio’s reign in Niger Delta Ministry and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) ruins the entire Niger Delta region as all ongoing NDDC projects sites shut down, contractors were not paid except Akpabio’s cooked up imaginary fake disilting and emergency jobs without project locations.
“The development and economy of the people and region were greatly hampered with as some forfeited personal properties from bank loans, some went to prison for inability to service bank loans, some develop Blood Pressure (BP) and died because of loans from banks.
“The three (3) years deceitful and wasteful forensic audit was used as a blanket to distract and decieved the Presidency and Nigerians. It was a mere tool to perpetuate an unimaginable looting spree of fake and emergency projects.
“There will be no known name to describe the current federal government anti corruption crusade if Akpabio’s river disilting and emergency projects that gulped over 80% of funds that accrue to the commission is not investigated and accounted for.
“Courtesy of our highly deceitful kinsman, Akpabio, the business activities and market place of NDDC/ NDM that were usually done in the South South has now been sold outrightly to hands of the cabal hawks in Abuja, feasting on them as vultures.
“The Abuja cartel like pirates in power sees NDDC and NDM as cash cows rather than a developmental agencies used to calm an aggrieved people that had suffered age long deprivation unjustly.
“These two all-important core regional offices were created out from the bloody Ijaw youth crises, countless lives of Ijaw youths were sacrificed, Ijaw communities were razed down completely, even the multi national oil companies paid dearly and lost a lot.
“Today, Akpabio because of personal greed has taken these so important offices oiling the peace in the Niger back to the absolute control of Abuja and total exclusion of the people of Niger Delta and the purposes they were created for.
“To shock us, Akpabio employed over additional 55% of non Niger Deltans from a particular region as staff of NDDC, meaning in few years to come, they would have taken over the entire managerial spaces in the NDDC and Niger Delta ministry, a commission specifically created to carter for a particular people and region is now run and occupied by non Niger Deltans.
“I wonder how many Niger Deltans are employed in the North East Development Commission?
“Those men and women from the South South, that helped to facilitate Akpabio’s destruction of the region would not be forgotten so soon.
“Their rules and love for pot of porridge against the suffering of our people will be in the history books for records purposes.
“However, the struggle is not yet over, we must go to the second phase which is to rescue NDDC and the Niger Delta ministry back from Abuja, rewind them back to the Niger Delta for the purposes they were created.
“We give special greetings to the few true comrades that stood firm against all odds of harassment, bribery of financial inducements/ employment offers, all sorts of intimidation, ultimately threats to lives.”
