BUHARI’S BIG STICK & THE NDDC BOOK

Dan Ugwu

When some of us throw in our support for President Muhammadu Buhari, it is not for lust for filthy lucre but for the conviction that the president has a selfless spirit for service. For some time now, people of the South have been advised to look HOMEWARDS and ask their leaders questions rather than point accusing fingers on the president for the huge infrastructural decay in the zone.

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered a forensic audit of the operations of the Niger Delta Development Commission from 2001 to 2019. The decision followed persistent criticisms of the operations of the commission. Buhari gave the directive after receiving governors of the states that make up the NCDC, led by Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State. The President said what was presently on ground in the South-South region did not justify the huge resources that had been made available to the agency.

Buhari is lunching this complain after serial accusations leveled against our leaders here. The Niger Delta states are the oil producing states in Nigeria which comprises of all the 6 states in the South South geopolitical zone as well as one from the south west (Ondo) and two from south east (Abia and Imo). This area occupies about 70,000kmsq of the landmass of Nigeria.

In a short briefing on Channels TV, the media analyst; Kayode Okikiolu engaged Sen. Ita Enang, SA to PMB on Niger Delta Affairs. Etang recalled that for over 19 years of it’s operation, up to N37b goes monthly to NDDC fund through statutory transfers. Some of these oil companies also explore up to 44,000 barrels of oil on daily basis, which is about $2.5m and still the states are far from development.

Buhari is worried that his envoys who went on inspection came back to inform him that some of our communities are lacking health centres, good School blocks, pipe borne water and good roads. He shouldered in disbelief and summoned the governors. Who do we blame? Not Buhari ofcourse, but our leaders who stock these monies in their private homes to build intimidating houses and drive expensive cars. They build substandard roads for us, pour asphalt on laterite and when the rain comes, it goes away and the roads are worst. They turn around and tell us Buhari wants to islamize.

Buhari has decided to urge the National Assembly to make a law to send fund to the communities directly so they can manage their development. No senator, Lawmaker or governor from the south is trustworthy.