Enforce The NDDC Act Now, Niger Delta Leaders Tells President Buhari, Kyari

Niger Delta Leaders, Elders and Stakeholders under the Niger Delta People’s Network (NDPN), have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to enforce the NDDC act which forbade the appointment of an Interim Steering Committee when there is a substantive board in place.

They advised President Muhammadu Buhari not to allow politicians to destroy his hard earned reputation which has endeared him to the Niger Delta people and placed him above his contemporaries.

The leaders in press statement dated November 20, 2019, prayed President Muhammadu Buhari and his Chief of Staff Abba Kyari to speak out over the lingering NDDC imbroglio by directing the Niger Delta Minister Senator Godswill Akpabio to do the right thing and stop further heating up the polity with his illegal Interim Steering Committee members who have made themselves willing tools to upstage constitutionality and whose continuous parade as Acting NDDC management team, negates the clear provisions of the NDDC establishment act 2000 as amended.

The statement, jointly signed by Dr. Charles Oniokor, Engr. Ekpo Edem Bassey, Chief Ehigie Momoh, Elder Chibuike Princewill Eze, Evang. Okpara Chukwuemeka Oji, Capt. Melford Ekpebu and Dcn. Emomotimi Seiyaboh appealed to President Buhari to inaugurate the Dr. Pius Odubu/Olorogun Bernard Okumagba led NDDC substantive board which he appointed and confirmed by the Senate as required by law and save the region from further embarrassment the illegitimate action of the Niger Delta Minister has created.

They alerted the Buhari of a plot being co-ordinated by some highly placed political actors who are out to destroy the NDDC with this ugly trend and thereby, dent his reputation with this show of executive rascality being exhibited by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs because of his sinister objective to hide under the forensic audit to clean his tracks in the NDDC and that of his nominees when he was Governor of Akwa-Ibom State for unbroken 8years period.

The leaders further stressed, that a wrong precedence is being set if this embarrassing situation is not curtailed urgently by the President who should direct the disbandment of the unconstitutional, shameful and dubious Interim Steering Committee.

The leaders said, the world is watching this scenario of executive brigandage of Senator Godswill Akpabio who is bringing the APC government to disrepute saying there is no where in the world, an employee of a President could be more powerful than the President and using his name to misapply rules and promoting illegalities by announcing new set of appointments to counter the appointment of the President.

They urged President Buhari to take action and correct the breaches to the NDDC act and dissolve the illegal Interim Management Committee which they described as an embarrassment to the Nation’s constitution and extant laws establishing the NDDC.

The leaders appealed to the Niger Delta people to remain calm and law abiding believing the APC government of President Muhammadu Buhari will rise up to its responsibilities to stamp out illegalities in the NDDC and allow it function according to the act which has no provisions for the office of the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.