Wike Blasts NASS Over Ex-Service Chiefs’ Confirmation …Blames Poor Performance Of NDDC On Presidency, NASS

The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, says Nigerians are disappointed with the National Assembly for confirming sacked service chiefs as ambassadors.
The governor related the disappointment of Nigerians to members of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta, when they paid a courtesy visit to him at Government House, Port Harcourt, last Wednesday.
Wike wondered why senators, who agreed with Nigerians when they decried the poor performance of the service chiefs, would sit to clear them for another appointment.
“Let me use this opportunity to express the dismay of most Nigerians to the Senate. Convey this to the Senate. We must be courageous in whatever we are doing. Everything must not be party affairs. You (senators) sat and discussed that they should dismiss the service chiefs. You said they’re not performing.
“Now, the same people who were not performing, you have confirmed them as ambassadors. What kind of country are we?
“In anything we do, we must remember that there is tomorrow; our conscience is key. It’s not because I want to be loyalists to a party. No. There are things you cannot reconcile at all,” he said.
Speaking about the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Wike said the commission has abandoned its core mandate; leaving those who canvassed for its establishment disillusioned.
“I don’t like talking about NDDC. It is unfortunate that those who fought for it, if they knew that this is how NDDC will be, I don’t think they would have even asked for it.”
He noted that over the years, various National Assembly committees on NDDC hah failed to provide sufficient direction that would make the commission focus on its core mandate of developing the region.
Wike said some politicians have transformed the NDDC into a cash cow for the prosecution of sinister political agenda.
To buttress this, he accused the commission of spending N10billion to unseat him from office, but added that the scheme failed.
The governor urged the committee’s leadership to prevail on the management of the NDDC to embark on legacy infrastructure projects such as flyovers in the impacted states, and not waste resources on doing 50 or 100-metre roads.
“You, as the Senate Committee chairman, and that of the House Committee, you’re from the region too. You are supervising NDDC; so, why not sit down with them to know the legacy projects they want to carry out this year in the Niger Delta states. Tell them these are projects they must make sure they execute first.
“Rather than do that, you allow them do 50 or 100 meters’ road or a close that leads to someone’s house. What’s their business there?”, he asked.
The governor accused the Presidency, the National Assembly and the ruling party of aiding the gross inefficiency of the NDDC.
“The National Assembly is part of the problem of NDDC. The Presidency is part of the problem of NDDC, and the party in power is part of the problem of NDDC, whichever party it is. They don’t allow NDDC to perform. We too, in Niger Delta, are not allowing them to perform. We are enemies to ourselves.”
He noted how the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) refused to endorse the amendment of the Electoral Act for fear that they would lose the 2019 General Election when it was the best thing to do for the country.
The governor also expressed displeasure over a senator who overstepped his immunity during plenary to demean a serving governor by calling him a ‘drunk’.
In his speech, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, said they were in Government House, to assure Wike, as the host of NDDC, that the commission would be supervised to perform within its core mandate.
“As a committee, we are aware that you have some reservations with the NDDC based on your state’s previous relationship with them. We have come to assure you that with the people you have seen here, who are patriotic Nigerians, we will make sure that the aspirations and the aims of creating the NDDC would be achieved.
“We will do everything possible within the limits of the Constitution, through our oversight functions, for them to achieve their objectives.”
Nwaoboshi also commended the governor for having done well in providing security in Rivers State with NDDC benefiting from it.
He noted that Wike has become the strongest voice that has continued to speak truth to power at the risk of his political career.
“We say without fear of contradiction that you are the strongest voice in the Niger Delta region. You have always been courageous, even at the risk of your political career, to speak truth to power.”
“You have also advanced the interest of the people of the Niger Delta. That is why anybody visiting Niger Delta will have nothing but to come and see that courageous man that is bestriding the area like a colossus”, Nwaoboshi added.