A Niger Delta group christened Niger Delta Peace Initiative has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to do the needful by inaugurating the already screened board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, by the Nigerian Senate.
The non-governmental organisation in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ebika Goodness, said the call became imperative to halt further agitations and protest from Nigerians particularly the people of the Niger Delta region.
According to the group, “It is now becoming like childs’s play in our peaceful region by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio and same time betrayer of trust and if not properly managed, our peaceful underdeveloped region will turn to something else.
“It is a known fact that different pressure groups, civil society groups, religious group etc has been agitating for a substantial board to be inaugurated in the NDDC to pilot the affairs of our region cos it has been the only known interventionist agency that is visible but the selfishness and greed from some of our politicians has turned a place that ought to help in ameliorating our situation, unemployment rate, bad roads, poverty, it is now a place to enriched oneself, a place where u collect contracts and squandered the money on personal and family use.
“On that note, the organisation stood firm with the Mr President on the issue of running a forensic audits in NDDC which the report was submitted by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Chief Godswill Akpabio forth night ago. What is now holding the inauguration as promised by the President, we want the Report of the NDDC Forensic Audits should be made public so that our people can be assured that your administration is transparent and act immediately to penalized the culprit for meddling with tax payers money.
“Niger Delta Peace Initiative is asking that the substantive board should be inaugurated immediately alongside the report of the NDDC findings to be made public.
“The proscastination by Mr President is causing more harm than good, ethnic group agitations, civil societies threatening, pressure groups protest and many more but inaugurating the screened board will definitely put an end to all issues and normalise our region agitations,” the group emphasised.