By Udoyo Oyosongo, Yenagoa
Former commander of the defunct Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and foremost ex-militant leader, Ebikabowei Victor-Ben, popularly known as General Boyloaf, has thrown his weight behind President Muhammadu Buhari over the ordered forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
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According to him, the ordered audit will remould the NDDC into a corruption-free and infrastructure-oriented commission for the people of the region.
Boyloaf rated President Buhari high over the ordered forensic audit, insisting that the people of the region are more elated that the present administration is the first and only in Nigeria to have directed the search light and ordered for a forensic audit of the almost 20 years of existence of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). “It is truly commendable!”
He also called on President Buhari to ignore the calls for the scrapping of the NDDC over the recent controversies of alleged financial misappropriation in the commission.
According to him, instead of the call for the scrapping of the commission, the National Assembly, the NDDC Interim Management Committee and and the minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, should sheathe their swords and be seen to be ensuring that there exist within a new repositioned commission in line with timely execution, completion, and submission of forensic audit reports to Mr. President.
Ebikabowei Victor-Ben in a statement issued via electronic mail recently, said though the ex-agitators and other stakeholders from the nine states of the Niger Delta region are concerned about the brouhaha and controversies between the National Assembly and the NDDC Interim Management Commission, there is the need for a sustainable mechanism to be put in place to checkmate non-performing Federal Government interventionist agency in order to work more in synergy with the various stakeholders in the states, local governments and communities in the region”.
“The President’s action, which is being resisted by some corrupt few, has confirmed to the people of the Niger Delta region that the President’s penchant for accountability and probity is second to none. It also confirms the President’s interest that a corruption-free NDDC is for the benefit of the people in the region, and for the commission to use the scarce resources judiciously for the interest of the Niger Delta people”.
“At this peculiar time in the life of the people in the Niger Delta region, what we need is a corruption-free partnership among stakeholders that are made up of traditional rulers, youths, civil society groups, state governors, members of the State and National Assemblies to be backing the President’s decision to ensure sanity within the administration of the NDDC for the benefit of all our people”.
“We, the ex-agitators, have accepted the call for a rejuvenated NDDC and want to call on the members of the National Assembly, the NDDC Interim Management Committee and the minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, not to yield to the temptation for continued theatrics, but rather to engage in meaningful dialogue with sincere stakeholders to work in synergy to achieve the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari for the development of the Niger Delta region and Nigeria”.
Boyloaf, who is one of the founding fathers of the peace process in the region, however, said despite the worries expressed over the controversies being generated with the probe initiated by the National Assembly, the ex-agitators remained calm due to their interest in sustaining peace and promoting proper development in the region. “Our calm disposition towards the noticeable dramatics, brouhaha, and the recent ignoble calls for the scrapping of the NDDC should be understandable.
“We, as stakeholders in the events leading to the establishment of the NDDC, know the pains, bloodshed, sacrifices and tortious journey which led to the peace resolutions that brought about the establishment of the various intervention agencies, particularly the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
“The Niger Delta Development Commission, which is a Federal Government agency, established by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in the year 2000 with the sole mandate of developing the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria should not be scrapped but rather the NDDC should be repositioned for success. We are witnesses to the fact that for almost 20 years of the NDDC’s existence, and with trillions of naira spent by previous administrations, the pace of development in the region has been disappointing.
“Roads projects worth hundreds of billions of naira constructed by local companies are easily washed away during the rainy seasons. There are too many substandard jobs done by indigenous contractors. At this pace, the region can never become the Dubai of Africa as many people in the region aspire. In our opinion, all major construction contracts should be given to multi-national companies that have a good track record and proven capacity of delivering world-class projects.
“As participants in the events that led to the establishment of the NDDC, we should recall that when the region turned into a boiling cauldron, unsettling the existing political equilibrium in the country through hostage taking and vandalism of crude oil pipelines, some of the ameliorative steps taken by the successive administrations are the ongoing Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) and the established Ministry of Niger Delta were complementary to the already existing Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)”.
“It all led to renewed thinking, new understanding with the Niger Delta region and a peaceful co-existence among the various geo-political zones of the country. Above all, the President’s commitment to strengthen existing intervention agencies for the region will predictably accelerate infrastructural development and lead to the emergence of a more peaceful states within the region and double up oil revenue for the nation.
“As a committed partner, the fold of the ex-agitators calls for a sustainable mechanism to be put in place to checkmate non-performing Federal Government interventionist agencies in order to work in synergy with the various stakeholders in the state, local governments and communities in the region.”
