Eric Omare, Esq., a lawyer, Niger Delta rights activist and immediate past President of the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, has called for the immediate sack of Godswill Akpabio, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.
Omare noted that revelations of massive looting emerging from the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, in the last few weeks was enough reason for Akpabio to be sacked.
The former IYC President lamented that the common wealth of the people of the region which are supposed to be channeled to the development of the region through the NDDC has found itself in some private pockets.
Recall that the probe instituted by both Houses of the National Assembly has brought to public knowledge alleged acts of corruption and abuse of office being carried out by the interim management committee (IMC) of the NDDC.
In a statement he signed and made available to DAILY POST on Sunday, Omare said, “To some of us in the Niger Delta region, the revelations did not really come as a surprise because it was obvious from the beginning that the inauguration of the duly nominated and cleared board of the NDDC under the leadership of Odubu/Okumagba was truncated because of the inordinate ambition of Senator Akpabio to use the IMC as a conducit pipe to loot the NDDC.
“However, I am shocked that President Buhari despite the shocking revelations from the ongoing probe had not deemed it fit to act swiftly to bring the show of shame to a stop.
“It would be recalled that when the illegal IMC was put in place, instead of President Buhari to be on the side of law establishing the NDDC which requires that there should be a substantive board at every point in time, he decided to endorse the illegality called IMC which was set up by Senator Akpabio because it enjoyed the support of his inner caucus.”
He said President Buhari’s endorsement of the IMC, which he described as illegal, gave the leeway for the ongoing massive looting of the NDDC.
“I call on President Buhari to swiftly act by sacking the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio for acts of corruption, dissolve the illegal Interim Management Committee led by Prof. Pondei and immediately inaugurate the substantive board of the NDDC already screened and cleared by the Senate led by Odubu/Okumagba,” the legal practitioner added.
