Failure of Leadership responsible for Massive Looting at NDDC—Rev David Ugolor

BENIN CITY, NIGERIA. July 29, 2020… The Executive Director of the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, Rev David Ugolor  has blamed the rot in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) on failure of leadership at the highest level in the country, urging President Muhammadu Buhari to take responsibility and reposition the interventionist agency to deliver development to the  people of Niger Delta.

ANEEJ Executive Director in a reaction to the sleaze in the NDDC  said there has been relative peace in the Niger Delta since the past two years which government ought to have used to infuse development in the region but expressed worries that a whooping N1.413 trillion was spent on 12,000 abandoned projects as we are being told from the current Senate committee probe.

President Muhammadu Buhari last week vowed to get to the root of the problem undermining development of the commission despite huge resources going there annually.

“All investigating agencies and auditing firms currently working collaboratively with National Assembly Committees to audit and reposition the NDDC must act with urgency and a sense of purpose, and ensure that I am kept informed of any and all actions being taken.” Buhari stated in his official twitter handle

“We see all the accusations and counter accusations of corruption in the NDDC as embarrassing to the Buhari-led government.  This quite disturbing for an administration that is out to fight corruption. With the startling revelations oozing out of the Senate probe of the Niger Delta with the figures that keep tumbling in every day from the senate probe, it shows failure of leadership at the highest level.  The president made all these appointments. It is the President that appointed Godswill Akpabio. Akpabio went ahead to appoint a management committee.

“ Our concern is that the Niger Delta has been raped! There are no roads, the East West Road has been abandoned. There are no development since the coming on board of this administration in the region, the youth have been calm, no restiveness with the understanding that development will come. What we see instead is fighting over who gets the biggest chunk of money in the NDDC. It is a failure of leadership, and failure of institutions.” Ugolor maintained.

The ANEEJ boss said the NDDC Act is very clear on appointment of the Board and the Managing Director. People of high integrity from the region ought to have been appointed into the board and they will in turn “When you talk about fighting corruption in the NDDC, can the EFCC prosecute an Akpabio as at today? How will the EFCC act when the ruling party is in control of all institutions of state? The actors in the NDDC are members of the same party.  Who will bring Akpabio to justice? It is President Buhari because the bulk stops on his table. President Buhari need to act fast the save the NDDC from the present rot and provide quality development to the region.

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