Group warns mischief-makers over alleged NDDC probe
By Amaka Agbu, Port Harcourt
A Niger Delta group under the aegis of the Niger Delta Progressives (NDP) has cautioned those it described as mischief -makers to desist from spreading false information about the executive management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in the mass media.
In a press statement jointly signed by the President of the Niger Delta Progressives, Chief Akpos Ebilagha and the Secretary, Chief Ziakede Indiana, the group described as mischievous a report in an online publication, claiming that the acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Prof. Nelson Brambaifa and the acting Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Dr. Chris Amadi, were quizzed by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over some tenuous charges.
The Niger Delta group posited that the claims were “preposterous and far from the truth as the NDDC executives were in Abuja on a routine consultation with the relevant supervisory bodies.”
They wondered why the media should portray such official engagements as a probe of the activities of the interventionist agency, advising that “the media should cross check their facts before rushing to press, as recourse to sensationalism can undermine current efforts aimed at repositioning the Niger Delta region in the critical areas of infrastructural development and peace building.”
The statement noted that the online medium that published the story admitted that the anti-corruption agency could not confirm the spurious report, just as the EFCC spokesperson, Tony Orilade, was quoted as saying that he was unaware of the matter.
The Niger Delta Progressives affirmed that the NDDC chief executive officer was a thorough bred academic with a vision to transform the Niger Delta in the shortest possible time.
“He served as the commissioner representing Bayelsa state on the board of the NDDC before he was elevated as the acting managing director and chief executive officer following the dissolution of the board.
“His appointment, by President Muhammadu Buhari, is a testimony to his humility, frugality and strength of character. In the last three months of his being at the helm of affairs at the NDDC, Brambaifa has demonstrated his unalloyed commitment to the mission and vision of the organisation by his words and deeds,” the body said.
They recalled that the NDDC boss recently commenced an inspection tour of the commission’s projects across the Niger Delta region, where he emphasised that the interventionist agency would only pay for quality jobs.
