NDDC: Sack Godswill Akpabio, APC Chairmen Tell President Buhari

…says Interim Management Committee, act of insubordination and lawlessness

State Chairmen of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have called on President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR to sack Senator Godswill Akpabio the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs over his disrespectful flagrant for Presidential directives and his overbearing conducts deliberately orchestrated to promote lawlessness to embarrass him.

The State Chairmen described Godswill Akpabio as a clog in the wheel of progress who hasn’t imbibed the culture of progressives ideologies but concerned about promoting illegalities and indiscipline because of his vested interest to annex the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as a unit of the Niger Delta Ministry where he is the Minister.

The Chairmen in a joint statement signed by Borno State Chairman, Hon. Ali Bukar Dolari who is the Chairman of the Forum and Enugu State APC Chairman Dr. Ben Nwoye, the Forum’s Secretary, queried the rationale behind Akpabio’s hasten moves to impose an illegal Interim Management Committee in breach of the NDDC act particularly, his naming of one Dr. Cairo Ojougboh a medical doctor, as Executive Director Projects whereas the NDDC establishment act makes it mandatory for the occupant of that office, to be a certified Engineer with the requisite engineering certificates and membership of statutory regulatory bodies.

The Forum also asked Akpabio what he intends to achieve by hurriedly appointing Dr. Joi Nunieh who incidentally is the Rivers State Representative as Acting Managing Director in his unconstitutional Interim Management Committee whereas, he being aware of President Buhari’s appointment of a substantive board who are currently undergoing confirmation screening by the Senate.

The APC Chairmen labeled Akpabio as another Saraki mistake in APC which must be addressed urgently as his game plans for 2023 are already in the known hence naming men and women who can execute his selfish biddings as Interim Management Committee members that is unknown to the NDDC act.

The Chairmen bemoaned the situation were a Minister exhibits crass insubordination to the office and person of the President, who appointed him as minister, as disrespectful and a national embarrassment.

“The President and Commander in Chief who effectively discharged his powers in accordance with the provisions of section 2(2)(a) of the Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC) (Establishment) Act, 2000 by appointing eminent Nigerians into the governing board of the NDDC as read by the President of Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan in plenary, only for Godswill Akpabio to appear on Channels TV program ‘Politics today’, in the evening of same day to challenge the powers of the President by announcing his privately named three man committee to run the affairs of the NDDC which President Buhari had earlier appointed qualified Nigerians to oversee via his executive communication to the Senate seeking for confirmation of the nominees.”

The APC State Chairmen noted that Akpabio’s excesses is the height of disrespect and humiliation to the office and person of President Muhammadu Buhari by an overzealous subordinate who is angling to sabotage the Next Level administration of the President.

“The State chairmen having evaluated Senator Godswill Akpabio’s disgraceful actions and his connivance with the PDP State governors whom he recently instigated to demand for the dissolution of the newly constituted board due to the incorruptible pedigree of the appointees to pave way for his sinister objective to be the sole administrator of the NDDC through his surrogates, hereby demand for his immediate sack by the President to serve as deterrent to other unruly government officials.”

The statement added that the State APC chairmen will no longer seat aloof to allow overzealous individuals driven by inordinate ambitions, to disgrace Mr President through their vexed and unconstitutional shameful actions aimed at destroying the sound legacies of the next level agenda of this administration they laboured to bring to power.

They called on the President to sack Senator Godswill Akpabio without delay, before he causes more embarrassment to his government and malign his hard earned reputation with his uncommon illegalities.

The State Chairmen further called on President Buhari to reverse the order delegating his statutory regulatory powers of the NDDC to the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

They reiterated that Akpabio’s overbearing conducts so far shows that the NDDC under his supervision will be counter-productive as such, the supervision of the NDDC should be returned back to the Presidency as it was before.

The APC Chairmen further called on the leadership of the National Assembly to exercise it’s constitutional powers to correct the lawlessness of the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio and ensure the immediate inauguration of the board upon confirmation by the Senate so as to curb the arbitrariness of a power drunk uncommon minister and uphold the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.