Niger Delta stakeholders have warned President Muhammadu Buhari not to heed to the call by some of his selfish appointees to appoint another sole administrator to man the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
The stakeholders on the platform of the Niger Delta Movement for Development, NDMD, also said it had observed with dismay another selfish plot to make the NDDC an appendage of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs with full powers to dictate and direct affairs of the commission.
NDMD’s Publicity Secretary, Ogbakiri Yanga, after an emergency meeting in Oporoza, Delta State, attended by youth leaders and elders from the region, noted that they would not welcome another sole administrator for NDDC to the region, insisting that the current management of NDDC under Dr. Effiong Akwa should be the last interim administrator for the commission.
He said: “This is the least we expect from the Presidency and the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. Any announcement of another interim administrator other than the inauguration of a substantive board will be viewed by us as provocative and the highest level of insensitivity.
“We have stomached this outright neglect of our opinions and feelings for a long time because we believe that Akwa will be the last sole administrator of the commission. Any other change of management must be the inauguration of a board.
“Any administration other than a substantive board will lead to a revolution of unimaginable proportion in the region because the entire Niger Delta is watching with keen interests and is prepared to rise to defend its common interests.”
He urged some selfish persons benefitting from the status quo at the Presidency and the ministry to jettison the sinister plot to appoint the most senior NDDC director as the next sole administrator.
Yanga said: “This is utter wickedness. We want to believe that some selfish individuals are bent on totally damaging the image of President Buhari in the Niger Delta. Already, the image of Buhari has been dragged in the mud because of the way some of these individuals have handled the affairs of the NDDC.
“People are quiet because they believe that the next change of leadership will be the announcement of a board. Don’t taste the wrath of a lion by touching its tail. Any attempt to appoint another interim administrator will be likened to waking up a sleeping dog. We can assure you that we will revolt and this time it will be total.”
