Niger Deltans Not Angry With NDDC Management ––Sara Igbe

National coordinator of the South-South Leadership Forum (SSLF), Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, has debunked media reports that people of the Niger Delta region were not happy with the management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

A group, the Niger Delta Elders and Stakeholders (NDES) had in a statement claimed that there was anger in the region for the failure of President Bola Tinubu to sack the NDDC managing director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku and his executive management team.

In a statement made available to LEADERSHIP Weekend in Port Harcourt yesterday, Sara-Igbe described the claims by the group as “a false and spurious alarm”, saying that they were enemies of Tinubu who do not want the president to succeed.

The statement read: “Let us take a look at the entire publication and matters arising: There is no truth in the publication from the heading to the conclusion, as there is no visible anger in any of the states of the Niger Delta region.

“Just recently, the various known and reputable groups and well-respected organisations led by the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), the various ethnic nationalities, the SSLF, MOSIEND and the Phase 1-3 ex-agitators of the Niger Delta region, paid a solidarity visit to the managing director and his team at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt.

“The groups also thanked and applauded Mr President for retaining the team after the dissolution of the board. 

“The leadership of the so-called Niger Delta Elders Stakeholders are enemy of Mr President and the region as they do not want him to succeed.

“Chief (Dr) Samuel Ogbuku was a Niger Delta activist. He was also the secretary-general of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) at the conception of the NDDC; some of the petitioners are betrayers and traitors of the region.

“Some of these persons were at one time or the order placed in-charge of the NDDC, who saw the commission as a cash cow and looted it dry and now that they are no longer in-charge by directly controlling the NDDC, they are resorting to blackmail and all kind of antics to remove the present leadership and replacing them with their cronies so that they will further loot the commission dry.

“The accusations and counter-accusations between the caretaker management and the National Assembly under their watch is still fresh in the mind of Nigerians.

“They have not been able to give account of their stewardship in the management and outright looting of the commission and other bodies in the region.

“Some of them want President Tinubu to fail as they did with President Buhari as they are still nursing presidential ambitions.

“The people of Niger Delta and indeed Nigerians are still awaiting the forensic audit report and the activities of the interim management committee and the sole administrator, during the period of the forensic audit of the NDDC.”