Godswill Akpabio
By Dirisu Yakubu, Abuja
A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Lekan Jackson Ojo has identified some “self-centred elements” as the mastermind of the recent onslaught against the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, saying the former governor of Akwa Ibom state should be supported to deliver on his mandate.
Ojo stated this against the backdrop of a report by Vanguard earlier in the week quoting a militant group, the Reformed Niger Delta Avengers, RNDA, as calling on the National Assembly not to allow Akpabio to defend the Ministry’s budget in the 2021 Appropriation Bill until a substantive board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, is inaugurated.
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RNDA leader, “Major General” Johnmark Ezonebi had in 11-point demand on Sunday said: “The proposed 2021 budget which appropriated billions of naira to the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio and the Niger Delta Development Commission, should be withdrawn and put on hold and the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs should not be allowed to defend the proposed budget until the substantive board of the NDDC is inaugurated and sworn-in by President Muhammadu Buhari.”
Reacting to this demand, the APC chieftain urged all those bent on frustrating Akpabio to have a rethink in the interest of the oil-rich region.
“This demand will be detrimental to the people of Niger Delta. This particular demand is the handiwork of self-centred elements that are using the agitators as fronts. What Akpabio is trying to do as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, which is the supervisory ministry of the NDDC, is the best thing in the interest of the region. We have been having Ministers of the Niger Delta and MDs of the NDDC, who turned out as wealthy citizens at the end of the day. Senators, House of Representatives members and governors of the Niger Delta collaborated with these people but at the end; there was nothing to show in terms of development impact. These people in their time would be awarded contracts but they won’t know the contract site, yet they will be paid 100 per cent.
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These are the kind of things Akpabio is trying to change. He’s insisting that it cannot be business as usual again. This has not gone down well with these characters. These people who are not happy are behind the reformed avengers,” said Mr. Ojo.
Ojo commended the leadership style of Akpabio even as he singled out his stewardship as two-term governor of Akwa Ibom state as a positive reference “we cannot forget in a hurry.”
He continued: “When the leadership of a state fails, the people will take to self help. Who among the governors, senators or House members from the Niger Delta region has performed creditably to the satisfaction of the people? Who has represented the people of the Niger Delta better than Akpabio? Who amongst the past governors can boast of what Akpabio was able to achieve as governor of Akwa Ibom state? He is the man that has changed the face of the Niger Delta.
“If the senators and House of Representatives members can replicate what Akpabio is doing today, the avengers and agitators would have no reason to come out now for fresh agitation. So, you can’t blame the agitators because when your representatives failed, what do you do?
