From TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
Ikwerre People’s Congress (IPC) Worldwide, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for dissolving the “illegal” Interim Management Committee and the Sole Administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Effiong Akwa, after a long period of condemnation and protests from stakeholders and development partners.
The group, in a statement signed by its chairman, Livingstone Wechie, said Akwa should be probed of monies accrued to the commission under his watch.
Wechie stated that Buhari’s decision to sack Akwa has saved the funds meant for the commission from being diverted to the upcoming general election.
He said: “IPC maintains that, whereas NDDC had been run in defiance to the enabling Act establishing it and whereas the one-man squad Sole Administratorship of the Commission by the now defunct Effiong Akwa was wrongly justified by the federal government vide the forensic audit regime, we demand that Effiong Akwa should be made to account for all the revenues that accrued to the commission under his watch including statutory allocations and contributions from the International Oil Companies (IOCs).
“It is important to state that this dissolution saved critical NDDC funds including emergency funds from being disbursed by Effiong Akwa in the coming days during the upcoming 2023 general election which he has planned with some known politicians from within and outside the Niger Delta.
“We continue to hold his time as the worse nightmare for the region as he fully institutionalised monumental fraud in the commission including the alleged diversion of statutory contributions by International Oil Companies in connivance with some known anti-graft agency and agents which matter is public knowledge.
“We, therefore, demand that Effiong Akwa must declare himself an arc enemy of the Niger Delta people and his likes must not be allowed to hold public office for life anymore.”
Wechie further restated that, although the issue of the constitution of a substantive management and board for the NDDC had been arrogantly emasculated by Buhari, the president, should by matter of urgency, inaugurate a substantive board.
“We further restate that although the issue of the Constitution of a Substantive Management and Board for the NDDC has been arrogantly emasculated by the President which has made the commission lose its essence and subjected to a pool off corruption by those who have hijacked the system, the President is demanded without further delays to immediately comply with the NDDC Act to ensure the inauguration of the Substantive Board and Management.
“The constitution of a board will restore the stakeholder rights of affected states and communities to ensure that the core mandates are realised.”
The group, however, congratulated Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua, for his appointment as the acting Managing Director of the Commission and charged him not to go the way of his predecessors and assured him of our support.