UPDATE: Akpabio Leaves Tompolo Frustrated

Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio will be leaving the Gbaramatu Kingdom like a fowl badly beaten by the rain. His hosts-the King of Gbaramatu Kingdom as well as the Niger Delta warlord, Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo told him straight to his face, that it is either the NDDC board is inaugurated before the ultimatum given by Tompolo or he should not blame anybody for whatever will happen.
His attempts to shower praised on Tompolo as a well respected nationalist who could not be pushed away did not yield anything for him. He failed to pacify the people to give him some more time to continue to run the one-man show in NDDC.
The NDDC has been run by a sole administrator in the last seven months. The minister who now supervises activities of the commission, after he was able to move it away from The Presidency as provided for by law, has been the one in charge.
Despite pleas by stakeholders, Akpabio has refused to allow for the inauguration of a new board. He uses the so-called forensic audit as excuse for delaying the inauguration of the board.
On Sunday, Tompolo gave the federal government seven days within which the new board of the commission must be inaugurated. The ultimatum will expire this Sunday. Tompolo had said in the statement that having watched activities in the NDDC, it was time for him to step in to check the excesses of the minister.
He had said “I hereby proclaim a seven days ultimatum starting the date of this publication to inaugurate the substantive board of the I have watched and observed with keen interest, the circumstances surrounding the constitution of the NDDC board for some time now. I would have continued to keep watching and observing, but for love of the region and the country.”
On Thursday, during Akpabio’s meeting with chiefs of the Gbaramatu Kingdom, which also had Tompolo in attendance, Chief Godspower Gbenekeme told Akpabio that “the people seated here are not IYC executives that you can just call to Abuja. The presence of soldiers in our region is not the reason for peace; it is because of our resolve. We want that board to be constituted, the ultimatum stands, after the ultimatum and nothing is done, don’t blame anybody.”