The Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill
Akpabio, has described as untrue the report in some sections of the media that
he buck passed on his responsibility for the formation of the Niger Delta
Development Commission, NDDC board.
Akpabio in a statement he personally signed, attributed the
report to those he described as falsehood writers who he alleged were sponsored
to write the said story.
The minister said the report was done when he was outside
the country on a national assignment, adding that he had checked with his media
aide, Jackson Udom,and discovered that the latter was deliberately misquoted.
The statement reads: “My attention has been drawn to sponsored write-ups in the media, claiming that I passed the buck on my responsibility for the constitution of the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
“The write-ups, deliberately published while I am outside
the country on national duty, reportedly quoted my media aide, Jackson Udom,
claiming that I have denied responsibility for the constitution of the board of
the Commission. I have checked with Mr Udom, and he has clearly said he was
misquoted.
“While I am not shocked by the mischief inherent in the
publication, I am alarmed at the extent of falsehood the writers went in
pushing their anti- Niger Delta agenda, to scuttle the due consideration of the
report of the Forensic Audit by stampeding the government. More alarming is the
attempt to drag the hallowed name of our president into this plot.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Mr President has set out to
reposition the NDDC after 19 years of rot, saw to the undermining of the dreams
of the fathers of the region, to fast track its development through the setting
up of an interventionist agency.
“Part of the strategy was a forensic audit to understand
what went wrong, despite the resources committed to the Commission over the
years.
“The report of that audit has just been submitted to Mr
President, who is studying it to come up with a formula for a commission fit
for purpose. That formula is what the board is put together will work with.
“It is not in the interest of the region to stampede the
government into aborting the reform process. The President has demonstrated
immense love for the Niger Delta and its people.
“This is reflected in the support he has given to the NDDC
to complete some of the projects abandoned over the years, like the
headquarters complex in Port Harcourt, the Students’ Hostel at Uyo, and the electrification project in Ondo
State.
“The President wants to give to the region an
interventionist agency that will realize the dreams of our fathers for our
people and generations yet unborn.
“The greatest disservice we can do to the region is to
attempt to stampede him, through ingeniously crafted media campaigns.
“I am irrevocably committed to assisting Mr President to
leave behind a legacy for the Niger Delta people, particularly, saving the NDDC
from dying like past developmental agencies put together for the region since
1958.”
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