Daniel Kanu

The premier coalition of civil society in the Niger Delta region, United Niger Delta Energy Development Security Strategy (UNDEDSS) has urged President Mohammadu Buhari to ensure that his administration lives up to its promises and responsibilities by ensuring that the Niger Delta region is no longer short-changed as done presently.

The group also advised the leadership of the National Assembly to stop its undue blackmail of the Interim Management Committee IMC, insisting that the motive is not altruistic but rather born out of bitterness for “losing certain humongous rent collections by certain premier officers of NASS”.

“Buhari Administration is yet to show sincerity in the remediation of the region” UNDEDSS noted.

UNDEDSS in a statement signed by its Secretary-General, Tony I Uranta said they had ensured that there was peace in the Niger Delta region while advising the government to start the implementation of their promises in the zone like “the Ogoni cleanup, more robust funding for the Maritime University in Gbaramatu, the full installation and commissioning of the currently abandoned mega-Dry Dock (biggest in Africa!) in the region, the completion of the sanitizing and full funding of the NDDC; and the demilitarization of the Niger Delta, amongst others”.

Part of the statement reads: “As we welcome the erudite Professor Ibrahim Gambari on board the presidential team, we anticipate a better working relationship between the Presidency and the region such as delivered the unilateral ceasefire which the Nigerian economy has been benefiting from since 2016, even without agreed reciprocating action on the part of Government.

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“The region is determined to get the Federal Government of Nigeria to honour its own end of the bargain, before end 2020.

“We applaud Mr. President for not allowing the self-aggrandizement driven campaign against the ongoing NDDC Audit sway his resolve that the Interim Management Committee IMC cleans out the years of corruption in that prime federal interventionist agency in the region.

“We must end the many years of raping the Niger Delta with impunity. We know that even the Senate putative scheming against the committee is not altruistic, but is rather born out of the losing of humongous rent collections by certain premier officers of the National Assembly. National Assembly must stop blackmailing the IMC.

“UNDEDSS shall also turn our x-ray on corrupt governance in the region’s state governments this year; but, until Nigeria learns to systemically embrace Independent Monitoring and Evaluation, corruption will never die in Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.

“Finally, UNDEDSS commends the anti-Covide19 initiatives of the FGN, Lagos and Rivers States especially, the Dangote-led corporate bodies; whilst, specially saluting doctors, nurses and all health workers for their selfless inimitable services, without which Nigeria would have long collapsed”.