Government Ekpemupolo, a former militant better known as
Tompolo, says there is tension in the Niger Delta region over the failure of
the federal government to constitute the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)
board.
A board is yet to be constituted for the commission,
following the dissolution of the previous one in January 2020.
President Muhammadu Buhari had, in 2019, ordered a forensic
audit of the NDDC’s operations, which uncovered allegations of mismanagement of
funds.
Buhari has since appointed two interim committees to oversee the commission, but they have both been accused of fraud.
In May, Tompolo asked the president to constitute a board or
face a breakdown of law and order, but Godswill Akpabio, minister of Niger
Delta affairs, pleaded with the ex-militant over the ultimatum and the
government was given till the end of June to make its decision.
However, as of July 1, no board has been announced for the
NDDC.
In a statement on Friday, Tompolo said the Niger Delta
people are “seriously agitated”, adding that the federal government should be
sincere in the handling of issues concerning the region because its people have
suffered.
“My ultimatum led to a consultative meeting between major
stakeholders from the region and Senator Godswill Akpabio in Oporoza town,
where a truce was reached, as the Minister profusely pleaded that he should be
allowed to start and fast-track the process of constituting the board within
the month of June 2021,” he said.
“June 2021 has come to an end. The people of the region are
yet to see any tangible move towards the constitution of the NDDC board by the
federal government. The people are seriously agitated. There is palpable fear
and tension in the region.
“I wish to reiterate my earlier position that the government
should, as a matter of urgency, constitute the substantive board of the NDDC to
avoid unnecessary bickering and crisis in the region.
“Since I reluctantly accepted the outcome of the
consultative meeting, I have done so much to keep peace in the region which
some major stakeholders in the security circle are aware of.”
Tompolo also said the government is unfair to a “greater
number of its citizens”.
“The average Nigerian citizen is a government of his or her
own as the citizens provide everything for themselves today. The Nigerian
Government must create an enabling environment for the citizens to live a
prosperous and peaceful life,” he said.
“Multinational oil companies operating in the Niger Delta
region are not left out in the troubles of the region.
“They are clearly part of the conspiracy in the
marginalisation of the region. They must perform their statutory obligations to
the people of the region by promptly delivering corporate social responsibility
to the people.”
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com