NDDC: Ex-Militant Leaders Laud Buhari Over Appointment Of Sole Administrator

 

By DAPO FALADE

A coalition of former militant leaders, the Leadership Peace and Cultural Development Initiative (LPCDI), has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing Barrister Effiong Okon Akwa as the interim administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

LPCDI is the umbrella organisation of over 95 per cent of the First Phase Leaders under the Presidential Amnesty Programme, popularly known as Ex-Generals in the Niger Delta struggle.

The president sacked the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the interventionist agency, led by Professor Pondei, given the preponderance of legal suits against it and replaced it with a sole administrator arrangement.

LPCDI described the appointment as a good news to the people of the Niger Delta region, due mainly to the administrative competence demonstrated by Akwa who was then the acting Executive Director of Finance and Administration (EDFA) in the commission.

“We are truly grateful to President Buhari for giving priority to competence and wealth of experience in the choice of the appointment of the interim administrator.

“We have incurable faith in the capacity of Barrister Effiong Okon Akwa to efficiently deliver on his mandate as the Interim Administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission,” the group stated in a statement jointly signed by Chief Reuben Clifford Wilson (president), Mr. Nature D. Kieghe (secretary) and Mr. Joshua Opia (the spokesman).

It pledged its support to the new face of the NDDC, saying: “We hereby wish to congratulate Mr.Effiong Okon Akwa on his well-deserved appointment as interim administrator, NDDC

“We also wish to assure him of our unflinching and unalloyed support to help him succeed in his new assignment. We pledge to give him our support anything he needs us.”

The ex-militants also called on “all critical Niger Delta stakeholders and youths to give him the needed support to succeed as the nterim administrator.

“It is time to eschew bitterness and anti-developmental activities and focus on the holistic development of the Niger Delta Region. Let us give peace a chance and allow Barrister Akwa to deploy his robust wealth of knowledge and experience to effectively discharge his duties as the interim administrator of NDDC for the accelerated development of the Niger Delta Region.”