ONYEDI GABRIEL, Port Harcourt
The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide has warned the Federal Government to steer clear of persons suggesting the merger of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
The IYC President, Peter Timothy Igbifa, said the government would only end up igniting avoidable violent conflict in the region if it considered such a sinister suggestion.
Igbifa said only persons, who had mismanaged the resources of the NDDC in the past two years could come up with the idea of scrapping the commission to cover up their tracks.
He said already the region was tensed up following the inordinate delay to inaugurate the substantive board of the commission and exclusion from road projects to be undertaken by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Igbifa called on Buhari to immediately inaugurate the board of NDDC and set up and independent probe into the whereabouts of the money that accrued to the commission in the past two years.
The statement said: “The attention of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide has been drawn to some reports of a conspiracy of a select few within the corridors of power to scrap the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and merge it with the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
“Though this sounds like a tale by the moonlight, we are compelled not to dismiss the entire report as a fluke especially amidst the silence hovering over our collective demand for the inauguration of the substantive board of the NDDC.
“The Presidency and the Federal Government should distance themselves from any suggestion or advice by any group of persons or individuals to either scrap the NDDC or merge it with any ministry because considering such a sinister idea will nail the fragile peace we currently enjoy in the region to the coffin of avoidable violent conflict.
“President Muhammadu Buhari should know that some of his close aides, especially some persons he entrusted with the collective interests of our region have abandoned the region to pursue their selfish interests.
“They have raped the NDDC so much that they can no longer account for the humongous amount of money that accrued to the commission in the past two years. They are, therefore, desperate to cover up their tracks and are capable of coming up with wicked suggestions to bury their malfeasance without recourse to the peace, stability and development of the region.
“We are calling on President Buhari to know that these enemies of the Niger Delta are determined to set our region on the path of violence to further deepen the scourge of insecurity plaguing the country under his administration.
“Our people are already provoked with the ongoing delay in the inauguration of the NDDC board and our exclusion from the NNPC road projects. Therefore, any attempt to allow orchestrated machinations of greedy politicians to decide the fate of NDDC will trigger crisis of unimaginable proportion”.
The IYC boss urged President Buhari to bypass some of the people he entrusted with the development of the region and conduct personal investigations to know the true situation of NDDC.
“It is time Mr. President bypassed some of the people he depends on and personally investigate the correct situations at NDDC. These people have abused the trust reposed in them by Mr. President and should be mandated to steer clear of the commission. They are capitalising on the old age of Mr. President to exploit the system overiching themselves at the detriment of the region.
“Mr. President should as a matter of urgency inaugurate the board of the commission and constitute an independent probe into how the funds of the commission were spent in the past two years. From the vantage position of our leadership, we can tell Mr. President that the non-constitution of the board is already brewing tension that can disrupt the peace of the region”.