From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, has dismissed as untrue media reports that he ‘passed the buck’ on his responsibility for the constitution of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The minister said he was committed to assisting President Muhammadu Buhari to leave behind a legacy for the Niger Delta people, particularly in saving the NDDC from dying like past development agencies.
Akpabio, in a statement he personally signed, alleged that the false report was the handiwork of sponsored writers.
Akpabio said that he had checked with his media aide, Jackson Udom, and discovered that he was deliberately misquoted.
In the statement titled “Re: Formation of NDDC Board Not Part Of My Responsibility,” Akpabio said:
‘My attention has been drawn to sponsored write-ups in the media, claiming that I passed the buck on my responsibility for the constitution of the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
‘The write-ups, deliberately published while I am outside the country on national duty, reportedly quoted my media aide, Jackson Udom, claiming that I have denied responsibility for the constitution of the board of the Commission. I have checked with Mr Udom, and he has clearly said he was misquoted.
‘While I am not shocked by the mischief inherent in the publication, I am alarmed at the extent of falsehood the writers went in pushing their anti-Niger Delta agenda, to scuttle the due consideration of the report of the Forensic Audit by stampeding the government. More alarming is the attempt to drag the hallowed name of our president into this plot.
‘For the avoidance of doubt, Mr President has set out to reposition the NDDC after 19 years of rot, saw to the undermining of the dreams of the fathers of the region, to fast track its development through the setting up of an interventionist agency.
‘Part of the strategy was a forensic audit to understand what went wrong, despite the resources committed to the Commission over the years.”
Akpabio further said the report of the audit has just been submitted to President Buhari who is studying it to come up with a formula for a commission fit for purpose.
‘The formula, Akpabio stated, is what the board will work with.
‘It is not in the interest of the region to stampede the government into aborting the reform process. The President 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.
‘The President wants to give to the region, an interventionist agency that will realise the dreams of our fathers for our people and generations yet unborn.
‘The greatest disservice we can do to the region is to attempt to stampede him, through ingeniously crafted media campaigns.
‘I am irrevocably committed to assisting Mr President to leave behind a legacy for the Niger Delta people, particularly, saving the NDDC from dying like past developmental agencies put together for the region since 1958,’ Akpabio concluded.