News
PANDEF, Others Demand Publication Of NDDC Forensic Report
A coalition of Niger Delta groups has called on the Federal Government to publish the forensic audit report of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
They specifically said there should be no sacred cows and secrecy in handling the audit report.
The Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Senator Godswill Akpabio had disclosed last week that the long-awaited report of the audit which started in 2019, had been submitted by a team of auditors.
Akpabio also gave assurance that the document would soon be presented to President Muhammadu Buhari.
The groups, including the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), said at the weekend that every aspect of the report should be made public.
They also challenged the Presidency to muster courage and ensure total transparency in presenting all aspects of the report to the public without fear or favour.
The other groups are Ikwerre People’s Congress (IPC) Worldwide, Itsekiri Liberation Group (ILG), Ndokwa Neku Union (NNU), Urhobo Progressive Union (UPU), and Movement for the Survival of Ijaw Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta (MOSIEND).
PANDEF, through its Spokesman, Ken Robinson, expressed concern that the protocols for the presentation of the audit report might cause another delay, all to the detriment of the people of the Niger Delta.
Robinson said, “We might have a situation where they say that they would study it (report), perhaps set up another committee to study it, that’s the way they may go about it. Just to delay it and perpetuate the interim leadership. These will be to the detriment of the people of the Niger Delta.
The IDU Patron, Idu Amadhe, lamented that the forensic audit had been used in the last two years to stall development of the Niger Delta.
He said, “The audit should be done transparently so that all stakeholders will be satisfied. To leave the audit in the hands of someone without making it public is fraudulent, and satanic. Nobody should take the region for a ride.”
Amadhe, therefore, demanded the publication of the full content and raw file of the audit report to enable the whole world and stakeholders to get firsthand knowledge of the true situation of NDDC.
Its Chairman, Livingstone Wechie, added that there should be no sacred cows or exceptions, but total transparency in the entire process.
He said, “It is important to state that the almost irrecoverable undoings in NDDC impacted negatively on the entire region to the benefit of a handful of known political rogues who have robbed the people of the Niger Delta of all development benefits as was originally purposed which precipitated and necessitated the establishment of the commission.”
The ILG Chairman, Mone Oris said that Niger Delta people were eager to know those, including brothers and sisters, who had through their greed, made life difficult in the region.
He noted that since the audit was carried out with public funds, there was no need for the results to be shrouded in secrecy.
Oris said, “If millions of Niger Delta money was spent on the forensic audit, then, it is necessary that without delay, that the report be made public. So, that they would be able to see their sons and daughters, brothers and sisters who have enabled, for the past years, the problem of the Niger Delta region.
“They promised before now that they would make it public. So, they should go ahead and do so. We are tired of the delay because they promised July ending. Now, August is running out, the document is not made public and the board has not been inaugurated. We are seeing foul-play everywhere.”
The President-General of the NNU, General Ndubuisi appealed to Buhari to be courageous and allow stakeholders in the region to know how billions allocated to the region had been spent.
He said, “The forensic audit should be made public, except there is something to hide. Otherwise, I think it should be made public. That is my personal opinion. If a forensic audit is being conducted, then, it should be made public. Except Akpabio lacks the will to do so otherwise the audit should be made public.”
His UPU counterpart, Olorogun Moses Taiga, said, “We want to know those who got money for projects and did not execute them, we expect that the forensic will go as far as revealing which projects were properly executed, which were poorly done and those abandoned and for how much they were awarded.
“The UPU is of the view that the report should be made public because it is public funds. We want to know how much was spent. We believe the report will spell out these details”.
The Pan Ijaw group, MOSIEND, also cast doubts on the audit, saying it lacked transparency.
Its National President, Kennedy Tonjo-West, said many of the communities in the Niger Delta were not covered during the audit.
He demanded that the report be made public so that stakeholders could question the validity or otherwise of the process. .
He said, “Is it that the new board that is coming in will start all over again to do the job they have done? We cannot be satisfied until we read the report being published and then we know the various communities that were captured during their field auditing.”
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.