The National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has thrown its weight behind the interim sole administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for his prudent, transparent and frugal management of resources that has witnessed massive execution of impactful projects in the region within a short period of time.
The NYCN, in a communiqué it issued after a 3 week tour and assessment on the state of affairs in the Niger Delta region, said it was impressed by the quantity and quality of work done by the commission under Mr. Effiong Akwa, noting also that the feat of performance has won the confidence of the masses and has translated to relative peace in the commission and the region in general.
The communiqué, which was signed by NYCN President, Comrade Solomon Adodo and Secretary, Suleiman Musa, further sued for support from youths and other stakeholders in the region for President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, rather than taking sides with a few who hitherto converted the NDDC to their private estate.
“No President has given the Niger Delta the attention it has received under President Muhammadu Buhari. The agitations that had hindered development in the region are being dealt with from the grassroots genuinely. The President has equally stamped his feet in ensuring that there is transparency in the management of NDDC. The forensic audit is one thing that has brought sanity in the administration of the NDDC,” it read in part.
The NYCN also alleged that state governors in the region were pushing for crisis in the region for their selfish gains and urged them to realize that they cannot dictate to the Federal Government, stressing that most of them have hand-bagged local government administrations and now want to extend their imperial tendencies to the Federal Government.
The national umbrella youth body pledged to resist any attempt to blackmail the President and the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs in their bid to support development in the region.
The communiqué read further that “considering the outcry by some politicians, particularly those opposed to the drastic reform of the NDDC, it was very surprising to note amongst other things that due to the direct developmental interventions of the Federal Government, the region looks unto the future with greater hope, while appreciating the works being sincerely done.
“That while politicians are in Abuja crying foul and others within their ranks have seized the media to blackmail President Muhammadu Buhari and the Honourable Minister of Niger-Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, the ordinary citizens of the Niger-Delta, who are at least over 99% of the population, welcome the Forensic Audit of the NDDC as ordered by Mr. President.
“That due to the forensic audit, contractors who had hitherto abandoned their jobs after collecting huge sums of money from NDDC have now returned to their project sites to continue the works for which they were paid. Thus every naira of the Federal Government being spent can now be accounted for with matching projects that have directly felt impact on the masses. We have seen firsthand the massive road and bridge constructions simultaneously ongoing in the region amongst other intervention programs.
“That the speedy completion and commissioning of the NDDC permanent headquarters is not only a novel achievement in providing a conducive environment for the discharge of duties of the Commission, but also a blockade of a huge loophole through which the resources of the Commission were being siphoned via inflated and unnecessary rent.
“That the relocation of the NDDC from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Affair is responsible for the better attention the Commission is receiving, which has translated to better development.
“That any form of blackmail against the President Muhammadu Buhari administration must be met with stiff resistance on account of the several sincere developmental strides of the government in the region.”
It further appealed to governments at all levels in the region, as well as traditional and religious leaders, to consolidate on the feat achieved by the Federal Government in ensuring that the region attains her rightful place in the national developmental equation.
