- Recommends local solution for Herders-farmers crisis
Royal Father of Idjerhe kingdom in Delta State, HRM Monday Obukowho Whiskey, has called on President Buhari to stop further release of funds to the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC until the substantive board of the Commission is inaugurated.
The monarch who made this call in an interview with newsmen in his palace in Jesse recently, noted that the Act establishing the NDDC makes no provision for interim management committee and Sole-Administratorship.
HRM Whiskey stressed that the imposition of interim management committee or sole-administration on the Commission, as is presently the case, was a breach of the Act, saying that the Minister of the Niger Delta, Godswill Akpabio is thriving in illegality.
He noted that it is also a gross violation of the Commission’s Act for an interim management committee or a sole-administrator to handle the regular statutory funds being released to the agency, urging President Buhari to withhold such funds forthwith, except such as could be used to pay staff salaries only, until the formal inauguration of the board already confirmed by the Senate.
“As for NDDC, apart from the issue of payment of salaries of staff, every other money that comes into Commission should be escrowed into a designated account.
“This is because what is happening to the NDDC today is alien to the Act 2000 that established the Commission. There is no provision for sole administrator, there is no provision for interim management committee.
“So, once the government decides that that is what they want to do, the only option available to us from the South South is to quickly say that they can pay the salaries of staff and stop spending every other money that comes to the Commission.
“Let nobody bamboozle you people by saying they built the Commission’s headquarters. The Secretariat was started by OMPADEC. That building is well over 25 years old. And they came and put some fittings and they are bragging about it”, the monarch said.
The monarch who slammed Akpabio, who directly supervises the NDDC, said the manner he is managing the Commission shows he is publicly portraying the APC government in bad light.
He said: “The Honourable Minister of the Niger Delta, should go and do a rethink about himself on how he is demarketing the APC in the South South.
“He is no longer a solution to the party, he is a problem to the party today. This is because if, as an individual, you think your interest is more paramount than that of the generality of the people, the APC as a political party should have been able to go back to the drawing board to call Akpabio to order.
“He is an appointee of government and the party. So, if the APC wants to remain popular in the South South, of course they should know that what he is doing is demarketing the party.
“So, they should have known that. Was it not the same Akpabio who said that if PDP wins in Akwa Ibom, they should bury him with one hand up? And PDP won Akwa Ibom, but he refused to die. He is still causing problems.
“So, we want to say that the federal government should, as a matter of urgency, stop further allocation to the NDDC except for salaries, that is one. Two, inaugurate the already screened and confirmed board because what has happened was illegal.
“People were nominated and they were screened. If you didn’t nominate them, then it is a different thing. They were nominated and they were screened and were waiting for inauguration. And somebody said he is a Minister of Niger Delta and decided to put everybody in a state of quagmire for almost two years now. I think it is the height of insult to the sensibility of the South South.
“And of recent, the position taken by the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, the Urhobo Youth Council, the Isoko Youth Council, the Itsekiri Youth Council – all the ethnic nationalities have taken a position.
“By the 31st of this month you will know that these boys are not people you can say go and sit down.
“But as a royal father, I’m joining voice to reasonable people now and we are telling the federal government, urgently reconstitute the board of the NDDC now so that when that time comes you don’t continue to call us from Abuja for us to go and pacify the people. Some of us royal fathers are getting tired. What are we to pacify, to allow illegality to continue or for corruption to go to high heaven?
“The last time I heard that N87 billion went missing and now there is a budget of N485 billion for one individual to run, run to where?”
HRM Whisky also disclosed that Akpabio is a contractor to NDDC, adding that the records are there.
Alluding to the fact that the Minister is a lawyer, he claimed “he has become a judge in his own case” by setting up the forensic audit and also appoints whoever he wants to head the Commission.
The Idjerhe monarch also spoke extensively on the state of insecurity in the country, proffering a local solution to the protracted herders/farmers clash in the entire Southern part of the country.
According to him, no nation or individual joyfully embraces insecurity. He however suggested where there is insecuruty, recourse should be made to local solution especially as it affects herders whose cattle graze in people’s farms in the Southern part of the country.
He took a swipe at those from other parts of the country who condemn the decision of the Southern governors to ban open grazing in the South, describing such persons as enemies of the country.
The monarch described cattle rearing as a private business, adding that it is wrong for one to destroy other people’s businesses while carrying out yours.
He disclosed that he applies local solution to the problem caused by herders who allow their cattle to destroy people’s farm, adding that any herder caught allowing his cow to destroy farms are arrested and made to pay for the destroyed crops.
“Insecurity is not what a nation of individual prays for. But once it comes around, we should be able to device a local solution.
“If the governors of Southern Nigeria have seen that open grazing is a problem that is causing insecurity, rape and herders/farmers clashes and they came out to ban it, whoever from any other part of the country that is coming out to disapprove of that unanimous decision, is an enemy of this country.
“Before now there were herders rearing cows and we lived with them peacefully. But these set of arm-bearing herdsmen are alien to us.
“The other time the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed said that the herders who are commiting all kinds of crimes are foreigners. If they are foreigners then they should be dealt with as foreigners.
“No foreigner will come to my country to dispossess us of our land. We live on our farm produce.
“So, I want to stand wholeheartedly with the decision of the Southern Nigeria on the issue of banning open grazing in the region.
“Cattle rearing is a business and it is a private business. You cannot use your business enterprise to destroy the business interest of others. Your cattle are like the farm of others you are destroying.
“Of late they go, harvest people’s cassava and give the tubers their cattle to eat. They climbed on top of trees and if you challenge them, they shoot you from there.
“I’ve made a law in Idjerhe kingdom. They can graze their cows on unoccupied land where there are no farms. But if you graze your cows on farmland and you destroy someone’s crops, you will pay for it.
“We don’t even fight them. We have a local solution. I send my local vigilantes when there is information that someone’s crops are destroyed. You arrest the number of cows you find there. We calculate the money times the number of cows and you go and pay or your cows will sleep at the police station”, he said.
He further emphasized that different areas should device different local solutions depending on the peculiarity of that area.
The Idjerhe King was also commented on his effort to ensure that his kingdom maintains high level sanitation, pointing out that it his policy that the few government’s infrastructure such in the area must be maintained regularly.
His Royal Majesty who personally supervises weekly sanitation in his kingdom, reiterated the common saying that ‘cleanness is next to godliness’.
“I’m happy you saw me supervising the clean up exercise in my kingdom. It is often said cleanness is next to godliness.
“I have a belief that whatever facility or infrastructure the government’s provides should be maintained by the people. This is a general advice”, he concluded.
