By Douglas Dodiyi-Manuel
Following the series of agitations that gradually assumed a militarized
dimension, the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration thought it
imperative to transmutate what was then known as Oil Mineral Producing
Area Development Commission (OMPADEC) to the Niger Delta Development
Commission (NDDC) with an interventional aim at human and
infrastructural development, which has in prodigious estimate been
disrupted by vested interest and amoral politics.
The NDDC was concepted to create a developmental hybrid that synthesizes
national and regional developmental aims within the Niger Delta region.
However, soon after its creation, the gangrenous persuasions of the
greedy instigated a systemic protocol of amoral politics against the
founding interest and aims of the NDDC – this is the cancer of cupidity.
In a manner that totally disregards the developmental imperatives and
urgencies of the region, the commission soon evolved into a political
hamper through, and with which political stakeholders and leaders are
compensated, and vested interests protected at public expense –
institutional plunderage became the seasonal symphony for successive
administrations. This mindless rape gradually characterized the
commission, as political appointees became billionaires overnight, aided
by civil servants that understand the nook, curves and circumventive
paths of the administrative processes – indeed, a river of inexorable
drain of regional resources had formed.
However, soon after the second term inauguration of President Muhammadu
Buhari, the stench of institutional larceny defied every strategy of
concealment – at every turn, the effluvium of theft was apparent, and
permitting the continuance thereof could never be an option to be
contemplated in correspondence to the character and personage of the
President, Muhammadu Buhari. Thus, an audit was unavoidable – FORENSIC
at that. This sent shivers down the spines of the beneficiaries of the
failed system. In the words of the legendary Malam Nuhu Ribadu, “when
you fight corruption, corruption fights back” – no wonder, even the
formation of an Interim Management Committee, IMC was not without a sui
generis challenge that eventuated into the appointment of a
non-conformist Chairman of the Presidential Monitoring Committee, in the
person of the Honourable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Obong Dr
Godswill Obot Akpabio.
Eventually, the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, officially
kicked off the forensic audit of the activities of the Commission from
2001 to 2019, as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari through the
Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio. During
the handover, it was noted that over 8000 projects were captured during
the NDDC’s verification exercise at the commission’s head quarters in
Port Harcourt. There, the Acting Managing Director, Professor
Kemebradikumo Pondei said that it marked the formal take off of the
forensic audit – thus a battle line is effectively drawn. This battle is
not one without the ancillary campaign of calumny. It is expected, but
from all indications, the campaign of calumny has against the
determination of the IMC, been ineffective.
Albeit, to the proponents of a prosperous society where the commonwealth
of the land is managed and administered in a manner that protects and
promotes the interest of the generality of society, this is highly
welcome. And so, with the institution of the Interim Management
Committee, IMC came a palpable public anticipation of revelations, and
so far, the commission is living up to it, despite the confrontations of
corrupt politicians, and the dissuasions of disgruntled elements.
Professor Pondei assert, in his words, “It will enable us bring to
account those who misappropriated the commonwealth. It will equip us
with the relevant insight to institute procedures and processes to
guarantee that the Commission realizes the vision of its founders. That
vision can be interpreted as the rapid development of the Niger Delta to
create an economy that will serve the needs of its people long after the
oil resources are gone”.
He also said, “The forensic audit, therefore, should be seen as an
opportunity, and not a witch-hunt – it is an important process that will
apart from righting the wrongs that kept the region in penury and under
development, provide a strong base upon which a new Niger Delta
Development Commission will be built”.
This is an effort to restore sanity in public administration, and
prudence in the management of public resources. It is aimed at
reengineering the psyche of public officials vested with public trust,
that our commonality is the good of the land, and the greatness thereof
– this is with immediate reference to the NDDC.
Before the IMC was instituted, the NDDC had earned an ignominious
reputation as an institution of economic predation – a hill of termites
that eat away the contemporary possibilities of our people. Therefore,
to many, the formation of the Interim Management Committee, IMC is an
illustration of the President’s attentiveness to public concerns,
insisting that government cannot continue in a manner that is
descriptive of a gang of predative goons.
It is further noteworthy that this encouraging process would never have
been initiated without the doggedness, resilience and determination of a
man with an intrinsic drive to development, Sen. Godswill Akpabio. It is
indeed a threatening expectation that with the monitoring task and
responsibility on the shoulders of Sen. Akpabio, every resources of the
Niger Delta allocated to the NDDC from inception will be accounted for.
It cannot be business as usual – this Pharaoh knows no Joseph!
Dr Godswill Akpabio personifies a threat to dishonour, and so it is only
normal for those that thrive in dishonour to feign the fear of imminent
witch-hunt.
This threat to theft creates an expectation of a war that this
administration is willing to wage, and the success thereof is the
determination to stand up to depravity, unbridled avarice and the
parasitic exercise of public powers, and notably, victory is certain.
END
Douglas Dodiyi-Manuel is the General Coordinator and Chairman, Free
River Social Media FRSM