Etim EffiongÂ
A youth group, Niger Delta Youth Movement, has appealed to the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio and top management of Niger Delta Development Commission to use the forensic audit to rescue the commission from corruption plaguing it since inception.
National President of NDYM, Comrade Joe Jackson, who made the appeal in a statement made available to newsmen in Uyo, stressed that the people of Niger Delta region were looking forward to seeing the NDDC re-positioned to serve them well.
Jackson restated their gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for the confidence reposed in Akpabio and the leadership of the Interim Management Committee to redeem the image of the NDDC.
He added that his organisation would continue to support and pray for all teams involved in the ongoing investigation to succeed in their assignment, despite plots to stop the forensic exercise.
The statement read, “The Niger Delta Youth Movement (NDYM) once again appreciate President Muhammadu Buhari for the order to carry out a forensic audit of the operations of the Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC) from 2001 to 2019.
“We are grateful to the President for appointing Senator Godswill Akpabio to oversee the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs as well as supervise the NDDC. We share in the confidence the president has in his (Akpabio’s) capacity and competence.
“While congratulating Mr Effiong Akwa on his recent appointment as the Executive Director Finance and Administration (EDFA) in the NDDC, we wish to draw his attention to the fact that he is coming at a time the Niger Delta region and indeed the entire country wants to see a redeemed NDDC at the end of Forensic audit.
“It is our prayers therefore, that leadership of the NDDC led by the acting Managing Director Professor Kemebradikumo Pondei, and the IMC to continue to cooperate with the forensic auditors to bring sanity in the NDDC for the benefit of the region and Nigeria in general.
“That will go a long way to justify the trust and confidence reposed on them which necessitated their appointments in the Commission. The Movement on its part shall continue to support their efforts in managing the commission so far. We understand that managing a volatile region such as ours is not a tea party.”