AKPABIO'S GREED, STYLE IN NDDC MAY FUEL CRISIS, GROUP WARNS

Sen. Godswill Akpabio

“It should be noted that Akpabio’s gimmicks on NDDC substantive board inauguration is fueling the already battered discord between the multi nationals and the oil producing communities"....Arerebo Salaco Yerinmene.

The “growing greed and manipulative tendencies” of the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, in running the Ministry especially NDDC may fuel fresh crisis.

This was the warning of a group, the Ijaw Interest Advocates, popularly known as Izanzan Intellectual Camp. 

The Izanzan Intellectual Camp in a statement further warned that the Minister’s style as regards the Niger Delta Ministry and the NDDC has become a threat to peace and multi-national operations in the region.

President of the group, Arerebo Salaco Yerinmene gave this position in a statement made available to newsmen in Warri, lamenting that multi-nationals are planning to exit the region due to the agitation by host communities as regards the poor treatments and underdevelopment occasioned by “reckless management” of the NDDC, by Minister.

In the statement tittled: ‘Akpabio’s Greed threatening the Peaceful Existence of Multinationals in Niger Delta Region”, Yerinmene said oil producing communities have lost hope in NDDC due to the way the commission is being run by a sole administrator instead of a Board.

While further stating that NDDC has been presently moved far away from the people of the region, the president noted that Host Communities and oil corporations in the country have been abandoned to their fate.

While lambasting the Minister for the setback the NDDC had suffered, Yerinmene said, “It is becoming glaring that the atmosphere in the region is getting charged as most major IOC’S operating in the Niger Delta are planning to exit as they are already having dwindling production in the region as the environment is no longer conducive for their operations following the continual agitations of host communities.

“It should be noted that Akpabio’s gimmicks on NDDC substantive board inauguration is fueling the already battered discord between the multi nationals and the oil producing communities.

“Today as we speak, AGIP oil company is at the verge of collapsing following the reduction of production per day. Chevron is shaking, Shell is barely surviving and even threatening to exit Nigeria.

“As at 2015, AGIP oil company was producing about 250,000 barrels per day but today they are producing less than 30,000 barrels per day. Shell was producing about 600,000 barrels as at 2014 but today it has crashed down to the extent of threatening to pull out of Nigeria”.

The group called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to “wake up from their slumbers before Akpabio push the country into avoidable crisis”.

“NDDC has never been perfect but still far better than now that Akpabio is in charge. It has never been this bad at anytime since the inception of the commission.

“If the presidency continue to fall into the deceiful acts of Akpabio which are huge negative contributory factors to communal challenges, causing unnecessary tension especially with the issue of the constitution of the substantive board, that means in the coming months the multi Nationals might not have no further option than to exit Nigeria as they are reporting already. The signals are not too good because surely it will crumble the Nigeria economy and undoubtedly there will be proliferation of insecurity in the Niger Delta region. Indeed a word is enough for the wise”, the group narrated.