By Johnson Okah

 The Niger Development Commission(NDDC) has been very much in the news in the last few weeks, unfortunately for the wrong reasons.

Regrettably, what the nation has witnessed in the last two weeks has been deliberate attempts by some highly placed government officials to denigrate the image of Commission for reasons that are obviously selfish.

In his widely publicized comments, Akpabio appeared to have assumed the role of a social critic, rather than a Minister of the Federal Republic in his assessment of the state of affairs in the Commission. His harsh words expose his desperation to pursue an personal agenda other than the public good. Or how else does one treat his blanket condemnation of the NDDC since its inception when he said the Commission was famous “for substandard projects in its entire history” and that it was an “Automated Teller Machine” for some politicians?

His description of the NDDC leaves much to be desired of the high office of Minister:  “We currently have about 12,000 abandoned projects across the nine states of the Niger Delta. If those things were completed, you can imagine that the area would have been turned into an Eldorado”

“There is no way NDDC road can last (for) even two years”. I think people were treating the place as an ATM, where you just walk in there to go and pluck money and go away, I don’t think they were looking at it as an interventionist agency.”

 “Even the idea of giving out a job to somebody who does not have the requisite skills is corruption on its own. The idea of bloating the contract is also corruption. Even collecting money and abandoning the site is also corruption.

“We have also had a lot of political interference, people have not allowed NDDC to work as it ought to, people coming with ideas not to move the region forward but to move their pockets forward. It has always been so,” the Minister was quoted to have said.

It is dumbfounding to say the least, that the Minister has chosen to play the ostrich when he has been engaged with the NDDC for a very long time.   It is hypocrisy at its worst for the Minister to extricate himself from the activities of the NDDC with such ex-cathedral remarks.  As Governor of Akwa Ibom state for eight years (2007-2015), Akpabio was not only a major stakeholder in the Niger Delta Region, he was deeply involved in the activities of NDDC since the Governors of the Niger Delta Region together act as Advisory Board of the Commission. This being the case, why did Akpabio keep quiet until this moment, to speak about the NDDC in such manner?

As member of the Senate (2015-2019), can Akpabio justifiably claim that he as not familiar with the activities of the NDDC? Why didn’t he speak out all along?  How come, he suddenly realized that the NDDC has been an ATM?  

From all indications, Akpabio’s utterances are meant to justify the illegality that he is perpetrating at the NDDC – the appointment of an Interim Management Committee(IMC), when a substantive Managing Director and Board Members have already been appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari, screened by the Senate and awaiting inauguration any time soon. His agenda is to appoint stooges who he can easily manipulate to achieve his selfish goals. This agenda must not be allowed under any circumstance.

Another question which also begs for answer is: Why did Minister Akpabio begin media propaganda when the forensic audit ordered by President Muhhamdu Buhari is yet to be completed? Could it be a matter of placing the cart before the horse? Is his public posturing meant to frusrate the forensic audit process? What really does Akpabio want?

In our view, Akpabio is out with a sinister motive. He is out to foist an illegal regime on the NDDC through the IMC. All the public posturing is for him to push through this ill-conceived agenda. Against this background therefore, everything must be done to stop Akpabio   in is track. The Presidency and the National Assembly must not allow the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs to get away with this illegality in the interest of the Niger Delta people and the over all well being of the NDDC.

Following the foot steps of his benefactor (Akpabio), Hon. Cairo Ojuogboh, the Acting Executive Director(Projects) of NDDC  has also launched a destructive campaign against NDDC and certain persons perceived as a stumbling block to the actualization of the “Akpabio agenda.”

In his published media comments a few days ago, Ojougboh alleged that a serving Senator was sitting on 300 contracts in the NDDC! Mr Ojougboh who spoke at a press conference in Abuja did not mention the Senator in the question. 

“Somebody who is particularly interested in a major contract of the NDDC, who is a member of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he alone has 300 jobs in the NDDC. Of the 300 contracts, 120 has been fully paid and he has not mobilised to site for these 120,” Ojougboh said.

“It is obvious that the reason he is behaving the way he is behaving is that he wants the system, the looting in the NDDC to continue, and this is what the Interim Management Committee will not support. It is as simple as that”, he claimed at the press conference in Abuja.

A critical analysis of Ojuogboh’s statements reveals that he is simply a megaphone for Akpabio, the aim of which is to justify the illegality that IMC represents. One wonders when such contracts were awarded and which management gave out the jobs. Ojuogboh did not substantiate his claims at the media briefing.

 The former member of the House of Representatives is well known for his controversial outbursts on sensitive issues. Given his well known record therefore, Ojuogboh should have been bold enough to name the Senator in question. Why was Ojouogboh speaking with tongue in the chick?

Similarly, since he claimed to have  “facts” about the 300 contracts, why didn’t he release those facts? Are facts no longer sacred as has been often said? Why did Mr Ojuogboh chose to keep his “facts” close to his chest until the forensic audit is completed? What then will the forensic audit reveal?

And if Ojuogboh is so sure of his “facts,” why embark on media propaganda? Why go to the court of public opinion, when “facts”  could be sent to law enforcement agencies especially the  the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Offences Commission (ICPC) for appropriate action?

To any discerning mind therefore, Ojuogboh appears to be acting in cohort with Minister Akpabio to  distract the public from the constitutional infractions and embarrassment to the president  who has appointed a board  and a new Managing Director, Mr Bernard Okumagba. 

 Even at the risk of repetition, the question which remains on the lips of all Niger Deltans and indeed many Nigerians is: Why the haste in setting up an Interim Management Committee by the minister? Does Akpabio’s action not amount to undermining the powers of the president and the authority of  Senate?

The setting up of an interim management  Committee for the NDDC is a fraud and must not be allowed to  stay.

By his acions and utterances,  Akpabio is showing clearly that he is an enemy of the Niger Delta Region. He has allowed his ego and personal ambitions to override the collective aspirations and well being of Niger Delta peoples.  Accordingly, he and his fellow travelers like Cairo Ojugboh must not  be allowed to worsen the plight of the people of the region by destroying the NDDC.