ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenago
Stakeholders from the nine states in Niger Delta have asked the Federal Government and the International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in the region to release the accumulated debt owed to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The stakeholders comprising traditional rulers, chiefs, women and youth groups argued that settling the indebtedness would act as a stumbling block to the new Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Umana Okon Umana, to reposition and implement the newly-developed roadmap for the commission.
The stakeholders in a statement issued on Sunday by its Secretary-General, Chief Anthony Loveday, claimed that from their findings on the activities of the tenure of former Minister Godswill Akpabio, the IOCs owed the NDDC $5.6bn, about N649bn.
They rationalised that the newly developed roadmap by Umana to achieve the commission’s core mandates might not work if the NDDC was not removed from its “life support” approach, noting that what the commission receives on a monthly basis could merely take care of employees’ salaries and office maintenance.
They noted that the call on the Federal Government and oil companies to do the needful was necessitated by the short time left for the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to exit.
They expressed concern that the NDDC’s roadmap developed by Umana could not be implemented without proper funding of the commission.
The stakeholders also restated their support for the anticipated rebranding of the commission, saying that it would enable the NDDC to serve as a vehicle to drive the socio-economic development of the region.
They noted: “The leadership must understand that time is of the essence, as millions of people across the region are languishing in abject poverty.
“Therefore, the Federal Government should match its words with actions and release the funds owed to the NDDC and also direct the multinational oil and gas companies to release the monies owed to the commission.
“We support the new policy directions and the expected rebranding of the commission under the supervisory leadership of Mr Umana O. Umana. We are waiting on the FG to release the funds for the expected reforms to commence. We expect the reforms to lead to sound decisions on various issues affecting the people of the region, including the completion of the East-West road and the review of various infrastructural development projects across the region.
“The Presidency should as a matter of urgency grant the NDDC new contracts awarding powers to enable the commission to provide communities across the nine states in the region with empowerment and entrepreneurship training programmes.
“The development would make it easy to alleviate the sufferings of the people in the region and to ensure payments of verified and completed contracts before the expiration of the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari.”
The stakeholders applauded Umana and the management team at the NDDC for prioritising project execution and payments that deliver the most impact for the region and their new focus in project executions in “security, health, education, water and road infrastructures.”
They welcomed the minister’s directive that “all further award of contracts on water hyacinths in the Niger Delta should be suspended while all such ongoing projects be reviewed.”