The Chairman of Pan- Niger Delta Forum ( PANDEF) and National leader of Ijaw Ethnic Nationality,Chief Edwin Clark has frowned on the day to day interference of the Niger Delta Development Commission ( NDDC) by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio .
Clark who was a one-time Minister of Information said Akpabio’s hold on the NDDC was affecting the smooth operation of the Commission
The Elder statesman wondered why the Minister constantly meddles in the affairs of the commission when there is no provision in the NDDC budget for the completion of the East-West Road.
Clark who stated this when he received the Interim Sole Administrator of the NDDC,Effiong Akwa, expressed disappointment over the non- completion of the East West road started by the Obasanjo administration in 2006.
As a matter of neccesity and urgency, the elder statesman urged the federal government to remove the funding of the East West road in the Niger Delta Ministry and bring it under the Ministry of Works to accelerate the process of completion of the road.
Earlie,r the NDDC Sole Administrator, Akwa had informed Clark that the East-West road would be completed within six months while the 750-bed hostels abandoned in Ondo,Delta and Rivers would be completed in the next three months.
The National Assembly had approved a budget of N453 2 billion for the NDDC for the 2021 fiscal year , however stakeholders in the region are worried that the budget may not truely reflect interventions on ground as the comission has now been described as a corruption hub.
In 2019, the NDDC was enmeshed in alleged corrupt practices that involved billions of Naira with officials subjected to serial Investigations from the National Assembly,NGOs while a forensic audit which is taking more than enough time to conclude its finding is currently in place.
Does NDDC belong to Edwin Clark and Delta State?