Edith CHUKU
A sociopolitical group in the Niger Delta region has vehemently condemned a statement credited to Mr. Jonah Okah that the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, was wasting monies meant for development of the region on small projects which have no bearing on the people.
The group also slammed Okah for criticizing projects embarked upon by the Ogbuku led NDDC board. They also frowned at him for accusing the NDDC MD of being worse than his predecessors.
Speaking under the aegis of Our Niger Delta OND, the group described Okah’s assertions against the Ogbuku as mischievous, baseless, unfounded and warned him against ‘pull him down’ syndrome.
OND in a statement made available to TNN on Saturday by its National Coordinator, Mr. Ejero Ese, described Okah’s critique of the NDDC Chief Executive Officer as misplaced, subjective and one done out of ill will.
Ese explained that, “Okah, a journalist and lawyer, had on June 16, 2024, published on a national daily, baseless and unfounded claims criticizing the many landmark projects of the board and also accusing Ogbuku of being worse than his predecessors and wasting monies meant for development of the region on small projects which have no bearing on the people.
“The leadership of Our Niger Delta OND, flaw Okah’s position; describe it as a figment of the imagination of someone who knows nothing about the yearning of the people of the region.
“It’s only a blind man and somebody without conscience that can boldly come out to accuse the NDDC boss of using the commission as a cash cow for political exploits because Ogbuku’s leadership is all-inclusive and grassroots based; always consulting the people before any project is executed.”
The OND National Coordinator noted that, “Jonah Okah’s critique of the NDDC Board is mischievous, lacking in merit, unsubstantiated and a campaign of calumny targeted at the rising political profile and administrative astuteness of the managing director and his performing team for personal gains.
“The water hyacinth clearing jobs and the solar-powered street lights which Okah is criticizing to disgrace himself and not the MD of NDDC is not done without the knowledge of the communities’ leaderships, and that the Managing Director has not awarded any water hyacinth job since he assumed office, at least, none known to Our Niger Delta.
“In most cases, it is the communities that write to the NDDC begging the commission to intervene in the area of solar lights and clearing of their creeks and canals which are no longer passable due to blockage by water hyacinth and other weeds.
“Our Niger Delta is one group that is closely following up the policies and programmes of the NDDC; for any individual or group to speak evil of the Ogbuku-led board, it only means that they are agents of darkness whose activities are hampered by light.”
Ese insisted that, “What Okah ought to have done, rather than criticizing blindly, was to call on the Niger Delta governors to form synergy with the NDDC to carve out areas where they can complement the efforts of the commission, and not claim to be ignorant of the many high profile road projects undertaken by the Ogbuku-led leadership.
“The solar street light projects which the Ogbuku-led board has spread across the Niger Delta have brought about a drastic reduction in the crime rate, and also boosted night life and other economic activities because the people no longer have to close their businesses early due to insecurity and darkness which were the order of the day before the brilliant idea was conceived by the current leadership of the NDDC.
“These are the rarest and most charitable dividends of democracy which the people enjoy from the government, especially now that state governors are very comfortable with the masses being in darkness while only the government houses can boast of power supply which they didn’t produce.
“Even state ministries are using generators because the state governors don’t care about any system functioning except the government house, and the people have since lost hope in the government and are beginning to play the role of governments to themselves, even though their governments force them to pay heavy taxes without putting in place anything to justify those taxes.
“Okah will not see these irregularities to talk about because he has since sold his conscience, but would rather speak about the Ogbuku-led NDDC because his (Okah’s) paymasters have already started thinking about the 2027 elections and those whose goods works may block their chances of winning.”
The OND leader further called on the members of the public to “discountenance the misleading and unsubstantiated information put in the media to discredit the good reputation and professional standing of Dr. Samuel Ogbuku because Jonah Okah is very infamous for pulling down anyone who means well for the masses.
“Both the Ijaw National Congress (INC), the Movement for the Survival of the Ijaw Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta (MOSIEND) and the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) can all attest to the transparent manner the current leadership of the NDDC is operating; always holding stakeholders engagement meetings to carry the people along in the day-to-day operations of the commission.
“Okah is not happy with the fact that nobody needs to have connection before reaching the MD, and he is also worried by the speed at which the Niger Delta youths are rallying round Ogbuku because of his kind heart.”
Ese added that “the leadership and teeming members of Our Niger Delta have already made up plans to meet with the MD and present an award of honour to him and also pass a vote of confidence in him for the many good things he is doing, especially in the areas of infrastructure and human capital development, and most importantly, the Project HOPE which is meant to lift thousands of Niger Delta youths out of poverty.”
