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The Forum of Concerned Niger Delta’s Stakeholders (FOCONDS), on Tuesday, stormed the National Assembly (NASS) Abuja, demanding for the dissolution and investigation of the Nsima Ekere-led Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) board.
The protesters, in their number, carried placards with different inscriptions such as: ”Niger Delta Rejects Corruption!” ”Niger Delta Rejects Nsima Ekere,” ”Nsima Ekere, Niger Delta Public Enemy,” etc, to press home their demands.
The Convener of FOCONDS, Mr Emmanuel Bristol-Alagbariya, who led some leaders of the group to deliver a petition to the National Assembly leadership, said ”enough is enough.”
”We are here before the National Assembly to submit our petition to them as youth and stakeholders.
”We have the sole responsibility to expose corruption, to expose the abuse of offices where necessary.
”There are monumental corruption in NDDC. We wonder why this agency that is solely designed as an intervention agency to cater for the needs of Niger Delta people will be reneging in its responsibility,” he said.
According to him, in the wisdom of the government and other critical stakeholders, this agency has been so funded.
”In fact, it is on record that this agency has been funded more in this administration,” he said.
Bristol-Alagbariya queried what the agency had been doing with all the funds appropriated to it.
”And it is as if nobody is holding our leaders responsible,” he said.
He expressed worry that though the executives of the NDDC are Niger Delta people, the problems of the region had been left unattended to.
”Why should they underdeveloped us? Why should they be enemies to the region that they are coming from?
”We have a petition here that exposes the corruption and the abuse of office in NDDC.
”We have submitted the petition to the EFCC. We are going to submit to the ICPC and other relevant agencies to do the needful.
”The NDDC Managing Director, Nsima Ekere, has abused his office monumentally,” he remarked.
Convener said Mr Ekere had breached the Public Procurement Act 2007, Section 15, Subsection 1, in award, implementation and execution of contracts.
Bristol-Alagbariya said it was disheartening that with different committees overseeing the NDDC function at National Assembly, the lawmakers were yet to beam their searchlight on the corruption going on in the agency.
”So the National Assembly committees must come out clean if they are not involved.
”The Senate President and the Speaker of the House must come out clean,” he said.
The convener, who noted that Nigerians voted President Muhammadu Buhari into power because of the belief that corruption would be dealt with, called on the lawmakers for an immediate panel of enquiry into the activities of the NDDC.
Also speaking, Comrade Daddy Gigi, the National Coordinator of the forum, who described President Buhari as a man of integrity, reminded that the present NDDC board tenure elapsed on Oct. 31, 2018.
”And as a matter of urgency, that board should be dissolved.
”This is the first time we are seeing over 86 protests within two months in NDDC. It has never happened,” he said.
Gigi called on the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker, House of Representative, Mr Yakubu Dogara, to mandate the committees on NDDC to investigate the matter. NAN