ALL AFRICA

The entire leadership and members of the Urhobo Youth Assembly have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to arrest and prosecute all those who have looted and diverted funds meant for the development of the oil and gas producing communities of the Niger Delta Region.

This is even as they urged the President to move the presidential amnesty programme to the ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

In a letter to President Buhari, signed by its president and secretary, Jude Akpore and Frank Onagagamue respectively said a meeting of the Urhobo nation was called principally to review the state of the nation vid the high powered corruption that has bedeviled the regional interventionist agency, The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) under the supervision of Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio as minister.

According to them, the Urhobo nation with over 21 flow stations and cumulative production capacity of over six hundred thousand bpd and host to the largest gas plant in Sub-Sahara Africa, the Otorogu gas plant cannot play second fiddle in the nation’s oil and gas politics and developmental stride.

The letter reads “that the Federal government should within the next seven days sack the controversial Minister of Niger Delta Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio, and initiate a thorough process of arresting and prosecuting all those who have looted and diverted funds meant for the development of the oil and gas producing communities of the Niger Delta Region.

“That it is imperative for the government to know that no statutory board of the NDDC in the past 20 years of its existence has been so financial reckless and controversial like this Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio imposed three members kangaroo Interim Management Committee (IMC) that is not known to the NDDC Act 2000.

“That our group has carried out a detailed investigation of all the nominated members of the board who have been screened and confirmed by the National Assembly under the chairmanship of His Excellency Dr. Pius Egberanmwen Odubu and MDship of Chief Bernard Oboatarhieyeren Okumagba and have no hesitation in demanding for their immediate inauguration as persons of high integrity who have displayed high level professionalism in their previous Government positions.

“That our group is also pleased, that in all the controversial happenings at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Ministry of the Niger Delta Affairs, one man stood out that is the Honourable Minister of State for Niger Delta, the Distinguished Senator Omotayo Donald Alasoadura who we have discovered to be forthright, committed and honest to the Niger Delta Development project and we therefore have no hesitation in recommending that he be elevated to the enviable position of the Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to be in charge of the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

“That for proper co-ordination and monitoring of government funding of agencies with responsibilities for elevating the living standard of down trodden people of the Niger Delta. We suggest that just like the NDDC the presidential amnesty programme should also be brought under the ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

“Finally, the Congress also wholeheartedly endorsed all the pragmatic efforts of President Buhari geared towards addressing the multi dimensional problems that has bedeviled oil and gas rich region of the country and we will continue to speak up anytime any day.”