Godswill Akpabio

It was a harvest of tributes for a former Chief of Air Staff, late Air Marshall Nsikak Eduok as his remains were laid to rest in his hometown in Ibesikpo Asutan, Akwa Ibom state on Saturday.

Due process advocates, the Transparency, Accountability, Equity, and Unity Network have urged President Mohammadu Buhari to cancel the perceived resumption of secret employment in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) against due process.

As reactions continue to trail appointment of Barrister Effiong Akwa as Sole Administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, a group, the Oron Union has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for settling for a man they described as “a leader with capacity and capability to effectively confront the developmental challenges bedeviling the region.”

Aggrieved members of the Ijaw Youth Council(IYC) planning a protest tagged ‘Mother of All Protest’ against the appointment of Mr Effiong Akwa as the Sole Administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission(NDDC) have decided to apply the brakes by putting the protest on hold.

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has described as “fictitious and malicious” reports that he was bribed in respect of the appointment of a sole administrator for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

Following the ongoing forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), many contractors have returned to sites to complete abandoned projects with their personal fund, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, has said.

Edwin Clark, chairman of Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), has asked Godswill Akpabio to stop “interfering” in the affairs of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

Pukon, in a statement challenging Mr President to openly declare his legacy to the region, stated: “The Niger Delta today has not been divided in any other time, then this time when you are the commander-in-chief with regard to the region’s socio-economic development and political advancement.”

National Coordinator of RNDA, self-styled “Major General Johnmark Ezonebi, in a statement, said: “The peace talk was recently threatened by the appointment of Mr Akwa Effiong Okon as sole administrator for NDDC, and the non-recognition of Niger Delta in the policy statements by President Buhari during the January 1 broadcast to the nation.”

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has said those opportunists, who benefited from the contracts racketeering that dotted the past administration in the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, were behind the fake video being circulated in the social media against him.

The ripples over the appointment of a sole administrator for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) reached a boiling point on Monday as hundreds of Ijaw youths blocked the popular East-West road, causing many travellers to be stranded.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday accepted to implement the 16-point agenda outlined by the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, as minimum preconditions for peace and stability as well as development in the Niger Delta region.

Former National Executive Chairman, Traditional Rulers of Oil Minerals Producing Communities of Nigeria, TROMPCON, HM (Dr.) Charles Ayemi-Botu, aka Lion of the Niger, Tuesday, lashed out at the Minister of Niger Delta Affair, Obong Godswill Akpabio, saying he was bamboozling President Muhammadu Buhari to destroy the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.

The federal government is targeting the completion and delivery of the entire stretch of the East-West road, from Sections 1 to 5 on or before December 6, 2021, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has said.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Akwa Ibom State on Wednesday arraigned a Nigerian professor, Ignatius Uduk, accused of election fraud during the 2019 general elections in the state.

A group, the Forum for Accountability and Good Governance, has withdrawn its suit challenging the power of President Muhammadu Buhari, to set up the Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission.

The House of Representatives Committee on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), is seeking to have the Interim Management Committee (IMC), of the Commission and a number of contractors investigated and prosecuted by anti graft agencies should they fail to account for N81.5bn suspicious spending from January to May, 2020.

Physically present at the meeting are Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Boss Mustapha, and the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari.

The House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta Affairs on Tuesday in Abuja queried the allocation of N15 billion to the East West Road project.

Militant groups from the nine states of the Niger Delta region, which vowed to resume hostilities, last Monday in support of #EndSARS protests, triggered fresh anxiety, weekend, as it presented 11 new demands to the Federal Government.

Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Ministry, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has urged Akwa Ibom youths to embrace peace as President Buhari was committed to meeting their demands with regard to police reforms.

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio and the Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Caretaker Committee, Senator John James Akpanudoedehe, have reacted to a piece of fake news purporting that the two leaders are at loggerheads over the 2023 governorship election in Akwa Ibom State.