A member of the reconstituted Delta State Traditional Council and Ovie of Idjerhe Kingdom in Ethiope West Local Government Area, His Majesty, Monday Arthur Whiskey Udurhie I, on Monday tasked the Federal Government to fix the collapsed East-West road without further delay saying that “the NDDC has failed woefully in addressing the deplorable condition of that road”.
The monarch also accused the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs of rising up to the responsibility.
Udurhie made the call in his palace while addressing journalists on the myriads of problems in the Niger Delta region and the country at large.
The monarch noted with concern that the East-West road, which is about the only road linking about six states in the southern part of the country, is presently in a terrible state of disrepair.
He said, “We need the Federal Government to come and fix it because the NDDC has failed woefully in addressing the deplorable condition of that road.
“The Ministry of the Niger Delta has also failed. Therefore, the Federal Ministry of Works should come to our rescue to fix the road and put in a mechanism that will enable regular maintenance of the road.
“As per the NDDC, as it is today, illegality has been perpetuated by the Federal Government in the name of running NDDC for the past three years. If the information available to me is anything to go by, if the Federal Government extends the tenure of the sole administrator of NDDC as it is being rumoured, it means it is the Federal Government that is encouraging the fraud that is been perpetuated by the Minister of the Niger Delta, Godswill Akpabio.
“Let it be stated that NDDC has a sister agency called the North East Development Commission which is still domiciled at the Presidency as we speak. That the FG would go and domicile NDDC with an individual so that the commonwealth of the people can be in the hand of an individual, is an illegality. We say no! The Federal Government is intentionally trying to wind up the activities of NDDC using Akpabio as the messenger of doom. We will not keep quiet on this.
“Henceforth, all monies meant for NDDC should be paid into a special account except that meant for the salaries of staff until the inauguration of a statutory board recognised by the NDDC Act 2000. Except that is done, many of our people will conclude that the Federal Government is collaborating with Akpabio to undo our people. That is the position of well-meaning Niger Deltans.”
Udurhie further stated, “Federal Government should return NDDC to the Presidency, sack Akpabio and probe NDDC’s spending in the last three years. Should they fail to do that, they will still account for NDDC money one day.
“They should stop funding NDDC except for the payment of staff. Monies meant for it should be lodged in a special account. Companies helping to fund NDDC should stop funding it for now. Such monies should be paid to a special account.
“In my kingdom here, we’ve got notable NDDC projects that were abandoned. Nobody came here to look at them. So, where did they work?”
Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: [email protected]
