PUNCH

Niger Delta activist, Annkio Briggs, has called on the National Assembly to name contractors of the Niger Delta Development Commission behind hundreds of abandoned projects in the nine oil-producing states.

Briggs, who made the call on Thursday, said it was not enough for the National Assembly to summon past and current managing directors of the NDDC over stolen funds meant for the development of the oil-rich region.

Speaking with The PUNCH, she said, “Right from the beginning, my position has been that the NDDC was set up to deceive the Niger Delta people, but it won’t work. I am not against the investigation; it is the only way we can find out the truth; but the investigation should not stop at former heads of the NDDC, they are all Niger Delta people.

“Contractors that have been given contracts should be named and their companies identified as well as top officials like directors be investigated. Whoever has defrauded the Niger Delta people should go to jail. Even a man who steals a tuber of yam or chicken is caught and sentenced to prison.

“Again, when you look into those contracts, you will find out that the contractors are all not from the Niger Delta; even if the contractors are from Niger Delta, they must still pay for what they have done to the Niger Delta people. They have robbed the people. Therefore, it doesn’t really matter if the contractor is my father or brother.”