The Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide (IYC) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari, to immediately sack the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, over allegations that the recently released audit report of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was tampered with by the Minister.
The group called on Buhari to publish the names of contractors who were indicted in the audit report published by the NDDC.
Recall that The New Diplomat had reported that a total of 13,000 projects were abandoned in the Niger Delta region since the creation of the NDDC according to the forensic report submitted by Akpabio.
President Muhammadu Buhari while receiving the report Thursday, vowed to investigate, prosecute and recover funds from contractors, firms and politicians indicted by in audit report.
The President noted that N6trillion had been invested in the NDDC since its creation in 2001 without any significant results.
Reacting to release of the forensic audit report, the Ijaw youths, in a statement called on the President to set up a panel of inquiry to probe what transpired in the NDDC within the period of the audit.
The group accused Akpabio of allegedly smuggling his “selfish recommendations” into the report. According to the group, sacking Akpabio would pave the way for the inauguration of a substantive board of the commission.
This was contained in a statement issued by the IYC President, Peter Igbifa.
The statement reads, “We appeal to the President to first publish the names of persons and companies behind this collective rape and destruction of our commonwealth.
“We want their names to be made public. We are challenging the presidency not to allow this to slide and end up as one of the empty threats consumed by the lack of political will.
“We were told that Akpabio ensured that selfish recommendations were smuggled into the report. If these recommendations are implemented, they will deny states adequate representation on the board and give Akpabio more time to continue running the NDDC with a sole administrator.
“For instance, we learnt that there are recommendations for a part-time board and reduction in the number of board members.
“These suggestions are not feasible because they are designed to extend the sole administrative regime in the NDDC. They require amendments to the Act establishing the NDDC and this will take at least six months to achieve.
“Besides, how can you think of reducing the board members? Which state are you going to exclude from the board? Or do you think IOCs should not be part of the board?
“These are obviously selfish recommendations and we are calling on the Presidency to be careful to avoid promoting one man’s selfish tendencies ahead of the collective interest and development of the Niger Delta.
“We are calling on the President to sack Akpabio for all the embarrassment he has caused for the Presidency in his insatiable appetite to maintain his stranglehold on the NDDC.
“Since he has submitted the report, it is time for him to go home and allow the NDDC have a fresh breath. His continued stay in office is an obstacle to President Buhari’s desire to inaugurate the board of the commission.”
