Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio has begged petition writers in the Niger Delta region to seek peace, rather than writing petitions that has the tendency of bringing down the region.
Akpabio made the call on Thursday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, while speaking at the commissioning of the headquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
According to the former Akwa Ibom State Governor, petition writing has surmounted development in the region.
“Niger Delta people why can’t we realize that petition writing and destructive tendencies are the things bringing the region down.
“Trillions have been spent, but nothing is seen on ground. When I became governor of Akwa Ibom, I saw something terrible. The asset sharing was inadequate. They left the infrastructure in Cross River State and brought petition writers to Akwa Ibom,” he said.
While thanking the interim management of the NDDC for its management of the commission so far, Akpabio lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for coming to “liberate us infrastructuraly”.
Lamenting the delay of work at the NDDC headquarters, he said: “I won’t mention the fact that the edifice we are commissioning today started about 26 years ago. The place was waterlogged, it was swampy.
“Mr President I get a bit emotional when I watch the fact that it has taken you to come and liberate us infrastructurally. Taking cognizance that this thing is being done in a time of pandemic when many countries cannot pay salaries”.
He added that: “We have to plan for the post amnesty initiative by ensuring that the NDDC partners with government to build small and medium scale industries to this region and employ our children.
“Some of them have not asked themselves what have we done with the 13% derivation, yet they will talk about the president in very demeaning terms. I want the president to ignore them”.
