Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has assured that the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) would be constituted at the appropriate time, upon the recommendation of President Muhammadu Buhari, Njenje Media News reports.
Akpabio, who stated this in Abuja on Tuesday, in a statement signed by the permanent secretary in the ministry, Dr Babayo Ardo, maintained that President Buhari was determined to reposition the NDDC after 19 years of rot.
He stated that part of the strategy to reposition the NDDC was the recent setting up of a forensic audit to understand what went wrong despite the resources committed to the commission over the years.
The minister said the report of that audit has just been submitted to Mr. President, who is studying it to come up with a formula for a commission fit for purpose.
Akpabio, however, said he never advised protesting youths and women of the region on the constitution of the board of the NDDC to channel their grievances to President Buhari, as reported by some online media platforms.
He maintained that it is not in the interest of the region to stampede the government into aborting the reform process, noting that President Buhari has demonstrated immense love for the Niger Delta and its people.
“This is reflected in the support he has given to the NDDC to complete some of the projects abandoned over the years, like the headquarters complex in Port Harcourt, the Students’ Hostel at Uyo, and the electrification project in Ondo State,” he added.
The minister said that the present administration wants to give to the region an interventionist agency that would realise the dreams of its founding fathers for the people and generations yet unborn, adding that the greatest disservice that can be done to the region is to attempt to stampede the government through ingeniously crafted media campaigns.
