Ex-Militant leaders on Sunday in Yenagoa cried out to the
Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)
over delays occasioned by ongoing audit at the commission.
The leaders bemoaned the untold hardship experienced by
contractors after certified completion of works without being paid.
The leaders under the aegis of the the Leadership, Peace and
Cultural Development Initiative (LPCDI) said some of the contractors were faced
with threats of forfeiture of collateral to banks over unpaid loans.
The LPCDI call was contained in a statement signed by its
National President, Chief Reuben Wilson and Secretary, Nature Kieghe, made
available to newsmen on Sunday in Yenagoa.
They called on the NDDC for urgent measures to halt the
psychological pains being inflicted on concerned contractors by commencing
payment to contractors who had completed their projects in accordance with
their contractual obligations, especially the ” quick impact emergency contracts”.
They said the call was to ameliorate untold hardship
experienced by the contractors, who have faithfully and diligently executed
their contracts but were not paid due to the on-going forensic Audit of NDDC.
“The contractors that are mostly affected are the ones that have
completed the ” emergency contracts” awarded by the Ekere Nsima administration.
“Most of them borrowed money from the banks with their houses as
collateral to finance the execution of the emergency contracts.
“We are therefore calling on the Interim Management Committee to
commence payment of such contractors to avoid banks seizing their houses used
as collateral.
“The unnecessary delay of their payments will have huge negative
effects on the execution of NDDC projects in the future because it will
certainly discourage other contractors from going the extra-mile to complete
such projects.
“This will occasion more abandoned and sub-standard projects in
the Niger Delta Region.
“We are also calling on the members of the National Assembly not
to constitute themselves as impediments to the accelerated development of the
Niger Delta Region.
“The lawmakers should not involve in frustrating and
politicising their responsibilities toward the NDDC.
“The NDDC is an interventionist agency designed to accelerate
the development of the Niger Delta Region.
“But our findings have revealed that some, instead of using
their oversight functions and budgetary powers to facilitate the development of
the region through the NDDC, use such powers to frustrate the smooth operations
of NDDC.
“We are therefore, appealing to such members of the National
Assembly to desist from such unpatriotic and negative acts and use their
constitutional powers to facilitate the development of the region via the Niger
Delta Development Commission.
“This is very imperative because if the development of the Niger
Delta Region is not given priority attention, it is possible that the existing
fragile peace in the region may not be sustained for long.
“We all know the consequences of allowing the past to resurface.
“As active actors in the past and critical stakeholders of the
struggle for the betterment of the Niger Delta Region, we don’t want such a
repeat of the past.
“This is therefore a solemn appeal to members of the National
Assembly to give priority to the development of the Niger Delta Region in the
discharge of their duties.
“We are also using this medium to call on all Niger Delta people
in leadership positions both in the executive and legislature, especially at
the Federal level to unite and use such positions to advance the betterment of
the Niger Delta Region.
“Rather than use the powers to fight themselves at the
detriment of the development of the region and our people.
“We should desist from pulling down each other with unnecessary
petitions because of selfish interests. We should always put the Niger Delta
Region first before our individual interests.” LPCDI stated.
LPCDI advised political leaders not to contribute to the
underdevelopment of the region by destroying each other for the sake of
self-aggrandisement .
LPCDI noted that there were formidable forces from outside the
region bent on keeping the Niger Delta in perpetual political slavery and
underdevelopment, adding that such forces sponsor disunity and division among
the region.
LPCDI advised Niger Delta people holding public offices to give
priority to the development of the region and people as doing so will
drastically reduce the internal wranglings and the plethora of petitions from
fellow Niger Delta people.
LPCDI lauded the National Security Adviser (NSA) to the
President for the prompt payment of the monthly stipends of beneficiaries under
the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
LPCDI urged people of Niger Delta and critical stakeholders to
unite and assist the NDDC to effectively execute its mandate to accelerate the
development of the Niger Delta Region.
“We should not turn the Commission to a cash cow for few
privileged persons across the country but ensure that it fulfills its mandate
by transforming the current pathetic state of the Niger Delta Region to a
modern and conducive environment for the betterment of the region and its
people.
“We advice the Interim Management Committee of the NDDC to work
in unison in discharging their duties and mandate by eschewing any forms of
rancour that can cause disunity among them .
“Also that they should ensure they provide palliatives to the
very indigent people of the riverine communities who are grappling with harsh
economic condition occasioned by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,” LPCDI
added.
No comments:
Post a Comment