Leaders of the Niger Delta have been accused of looting funds meant for the transformation of the region, and sharing the loot amongst themselves to the detriment of the people and their communities.
Professor Itse Sagay who is in charge of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption levied the accusation Tuesday night, saying what Niger Delta leaders have done was to encourage the underdevelopment of the region.
Speaking on Channels Television, Sagay urged President Buhari to send everyone connected to the rape of the NDDC packing.
Sagay did not say if the operation clean sweep that he suggested would include the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.
But he said that the looting going on at the NDDC was more like a merry go round, claiming that the Niger Delta could have transformed rapidly if rogue leaders in the region have been less voracious.
Senator Akpabio, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, may be sitting on a ticking time bomb.
Telegraph investigations show that the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State and some principal officers of the National Assembly may be targets of the controversial probes that are going on.
Senator Peter Nwaoboshi and his colleagues in the National Assemhly may have stepped on the toes of some of their colleagues.
They are allegedly being accused behind the scene of manipulating projects to the exclusion of the constituencies of their colleagues.
Somehow, a lot of pressure from the political class is being directed against Akpabio who has inherited the responsibility of driving the forensic audit that is ongoing.
The sudden emergence of Joi Nunieh on the scene, some observers say, show that a dirty war which may consume a lot of highly placed people is being fought. She had claimed that Akpabio wanted her to incriminate Nwaboshi who is elected on the platform of the PDP.
Already, the Rivers State Government has played a hand in the ongoing crisis, saying that it would not want anything untoward to happen to a daughter of the State who is involved in the unfolding drama involving the NDDC.
That reference was obviously to Nunieh who may have had a working relationship with Governor Nyesom Wike.
In a statement issued by Paulinus Nsirim, Commissioner for Information, the Government said it was following events with keen interest.
Why the State Government issued the statement remains a puzzle. It was perhaps proof that Joi may have allegedly had an alliance with the Wike and Abe groups.
Could they have been united against a common foe?
No one can tell at this time. Somehow, the intrigues continue with all those who have interests in the NDDC debacle hitting their best shots.
Our investigations however show that those who are apparently championing the ongoing fight may be swallowed by the campaign that they have started when the time comes.
President Muhammadu Buhari has not uttered a word since the rot that is going on came to the fore, but his actions in the last few weeks suggest that he could be deadly precise in his response.
Ibrahim Magu of the EFCC is just one example of what the President can do, and his adviser on anti-corruption matters, Professor Itse Sagay has called for a complete sweep of all who may be linked to the NDDC.
Meanwhile, Senator Godswill Akpabio has insisted that those who swallowed NDDC funds must cough same out.
“I am not satisfied with what is happening in the Niger Delta because the money that is coming to the NDDC is being hijacked by some people who do not want the money to provide any form of succour to the larger society. We need a change so that we can use available money to complete the East-West Road before December, do some specialist hospital that can provide holistic health care for the people and create jobs for the people.
“I want to see a new NDDC with a good balance sheet because for 19 years we lost everything to powerful forces who used the NDDC money to buy limousines for themselves and families leaving the poor people to continue in their squalor.
“For this reason, the forensic audit will show who got what and who did what with the money they received and I can assure you that all those who swallowed NDDC money will cough it out no matter how powerful and connected they are. It has already led to the recovery of money and houses which were stolen before we came to the scene.
“The audit is meant to reposition the NDDC and not to witch-hunt anyone. I have not given out contracts except the appointment of the forensic experts and coved19 tests and equipment for the states. We assisted the governors financially to set up facilities for coved 19″, Akapbio told the Vanguard.
The passage of the 2020 budget of the NDDC is still on hold. When the joint committee of the National Assembly sat, it hurriedly adjourned
NDDC officials will have to approach the National Assembly for the passage of the 2020 budget at a latter date, going by the ruling of the Committee that is responsible for such matters.