By Emmanuel Nduka
The League of Niger Delta Elders have knocked the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government for failing to deliver on its many promises made to the Niger Delta region.
This was contained in an Open Letter written on Friday to Solomon Lalong, Governor of Plateau State and Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign, the group noted that this sad development has taken the region backwards in terms of development.
“As the 2023 general election draws nigh, it has become crucial to express our displeasure with the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, on their failed promises to the oil-rich Niger Delta region.
“The alarm raised by Godswill Akpabio, the erstwhile Minister of Niger Delta Affairs that the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC is on “life support”, is a reality which has taken the region aback, and is disrupting the developmental story of the region that is begging to be written in gold.
“The deliberate failure of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to constitute a substansive NDDC Board is a minus in their achievements, especially as they leave office in a few months time.
“This Gestapo-like decision, has left the NDDC leadership in the hands of a Sole Administratior for too long. This has in turn botched the working relationship between the NDDC, International Oil Companies, IOCs and the Niger Delta Ministry.
“These bureaucracies are largely responsible for the trapping of funds which would have been used to fast-track payment to contractors for projects executed in the region.
“The East West Road still lies uncompleted. The report of the NDDC Forensic Audit which revealed that as much as 13,000 projects remain uncompleted across the region, is yet to be made public.
“To this end, and as a matter of urgency to score some valid points before leaving office, the current administration can still salvage itself,” the letter written by Oyintari Peretimi, the group’s spokesperson read.
