Niger Delta women under the umbrella of National Association of Niger Delta Women (NANDW) have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently save the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from its current state as well as prevent the violence currently brewing in the region.
The women in a letter sent to President Buhari, which was made available to THISDAY yesterday, lamented that with the present situation at the commission, they are the ones that would be affected by the “recklessness and the near absence of development in the Niger Delta region hence this outcry.”
NANDW in the letter, which was signed by its Chairman, Mrs. Lovette Onos; Mrs Preye Kokumor, Mrs. Nkwor Ubong, Mrs. Julie Achibong, said they had rejoiced when the president ordered a forensic audit into the activities of the NDDC, “considering the rot and corruption in the system,” as many contractors ran back to either commence their jobs or complete them in the region.
They, however, added that the excitement was cut short “soon after many contractors discovered that it was not a big deal, as the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Godswill Akpabio, was in charge and not the presidency. Everything went back to square one, unfortunately.”
“As wives, mothers, and market women who live in the various states of the Niger Delta, we are pained by the recent development in the NDDC. We are the ones that are most affected by the recklessness and the near absence of development in the region hence this outcry.
“Mr. President, we plead with you most passionately to hearken to our cries and supplications. It is unbelievable that the so-called forensic audit is still ongoing and we wonder why it is unending. The forensic audit is a carefully orchestrated plan by Akpabio to take total control of the NDDC at the detriment of the entire Niger Delta people.
“He has pocketed the NDDC and he is now acting as if he is God unto himself, without an iota of control from the President of this country.”
The Niger Delta women, however, humbly implore the president to as a matter of urgency sack the sole administrator of the commission, “and constitute a board comprising men and women of high moral standing with proven track records, and must refuse any list from Akpabio. He cannot be the one to constitute the NDDC Board. That power rests squarely on you the president.
Secondly, it is our plea that the NDDC be removed from the ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and placed under the direct supervision of the presidency as it was hitherto.
“Our points have been made. We have spoken and we expect our president to listen to us. We will nevertheless undergo a protest and close down the NDDC offices across the Niger Delta and also shut the East-West Road with the assistance of our able-bodied youths if our demands are not met.”
