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Niger Delta Fund Initiative: Ex-Lawmaker Chides Niger Delta Governors over NDDC Act
http://www.thisdayonline.com/sunday/20030831news19.html
From Ahamefula Ogbu in Abuja
8/31/2003Former House member in the last legislative session, Hon Akineyene Eyo, has accused governors of the Niger Delta States of conniving with President Olusegun Obasanjo to stultify the development of Niger Delta.
He predicated his position on the proposed amendment to the Niger Delta Development Commission Bill where the President is asking for a reduction from 15 to 10 percent of the funding of the commission.
He described as an insult on the sensibilities of the people of the zone the proposed amendments, which he said the former House had rejected, adding that presenting it again shows that the President does not like the people of the Niger Delta region.
Eyo is also alleging that for the governors of the Niger Delta region to keep mute while there is an overt move to stop projects that touch on the lives of the people was nothing short of connivance with the executive in its bid to move against the interest of the people of the zone.
"I think it is an agreed action that Mr. President should not sign the NDDC Bill as passed by the National Assembly so that the people of Niger Delta will continue to suffer," he said.
Asked the possible reasons for the alleged indifference of the governors to the plight of their zone, he alleged that they were more concerned with protecting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) interests over the glaring injustices suffered by the people that elected them to oversee their affairs.
"I am sure that the six governors and the PDP leadership in the zone will one day answer questions because it is not even the people's mandate that they used to put themselves in power and now they are using the same mandate to represent us falsely," he said.
He reasoned that if the governors were not acting in concert with the President, they would have raised their voice in unison against the injustice, adding that he had it on good authority that some of them were angling for third terms in office which they needed the President to protect them. He said the only option open to the people now was to appeal to the National Assembly to reject the proposed amendment of the Bill and insist that even more funds be made available to the area to develop it and stem the rising restiveness of youths there.
© 2003. Vanguard Media Ltd.
http://www.earthrights.net/nigeria/news/nddcact.html