NDDC AND A CONFUSED PRESIDENCY
By Engr. Igilar

The proposed amendment by President Olusegun Obasanjo (OBJ) to the law establishing NDDC is a rape on the people of Niger Delta region. Not only is the law retrogressive, it is also one meant to disstabilize the entire region.The law seeks to make beneficiary States contribute 10% of their monthly statutory allocation to NDDC, but reducing Federal Government counterpart funding from 15% to 10%.

Whatever informed the president's thinking on the subject matter is unknown to us, but we believe that those he surrounds himself with do not wish him well.The President needs to be told that those whose land have been producing the oil and gas, used for developing his OTTA business empire have become wiser and will not succumb to blackmail. Do we need to remind him that the Presidency was given to him on a platter of gold by our able Governor ,and no sooner than he gets settled, he turns around to repay us in bad cheques . The Niger Delta has gone through so much from the days of OMPADEC, when the institution was created to resolve the long years of neglect suffered by the people of the Niger Delta.

The establishment of OMPADEC was supposed to assuage the excruciating hardship that was foisted on us. One of the reasons OMPADEC failed was the constant interference by the leadership, and also lack of master plan to define the development strategies for the area. Coupled with this, was our kinsmen who colluded with the high and mighty at ASO ROCK to steal millions of Naira from the same institution created to provide physical development to our people. In the end, they helped to under-develop us all.

We had hoped that OBJ. would be true to us having created the NDDC which was to be an interventionist agency, having the task of formulating policies and guidelines that will usher in a new era of physical development.Today, what we have witnessed is the same betrayal by those whom we thought had our interest at hand.Agbada and Babariga wearing men and women coming from the West and North to obtain contract that are partially executed..

It is time for people of the Niger Delta to rise up, and resist peacefully those who would oppose the physical development of our region.

Today, as onelga.com welcomes another son of Ogba- The NDDC commissioner representing Rivers State, Mr. Shederack Akolokwu to the United States of America,we hope that his visit will provide us with answers to questions we have about NDDC, and what they will do to improve the lot of our people.We are also calling on the people of Niger Delta to resist the move by the President to change the law. What is needed is an increase in what accrues to our States and not a deduction.