By Iruoghene Okala
With a broad smile and gait of royalty, you would always fall in love with him even before you know his name. He has a magnetic and transforming personality. He is Senator God’s will Akpabio.
Senator Akpabio is not just one of the visionary and revolutionary leaders whose positive leadership have deepened the roots of our nascent democracy but also, he is simply God’s gift from the Niger Delta to the larger Nigerian Society and the whole World.
The leadership style of the current Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs as the Governor of his home State, Akwa-Ibom between 2007 and 2015 made him a governor of Governor across the thirty-six States of the Federation.
He was featly nicknamed the UNCOMMON TRANSFORMER because of meaningful infrastructural development in the State. Under his watch, there was mental shift amongst the Akwa Ibomites, especially the youths.
Prior to Senator Akpabio’s time being the Governor of Akwa Ibom, the people of the State were derogatorily described as house helps and ‘gatemen’ as “Ekaete” was the word for house help and “Akpan” for a gateman.
All these have long changed.
Since mid-2000s, the name Akwa Ibom symbolizes a paradise and home of pride to the Akwa ibomites and other Nigerians. MC Galaxy in his popular song, “Akwa Ibom ayaya”, drives home the new narration.
So, when President Mohammadu Buhari appointed Senator God’s will Akpabio as the Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, many of us in the region hailed the appointment as a round peg in a round hole.
True to expectations, the distinguished Senator hit the ground running with the speedy completion of the headquarters Complex of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC at Port-Harcourt, Rivers State whose construction has been more than twenty years.
Under your watch, as the Minister, the uncompleted part of the East-West Road has received accelerated attention giving the people of the Area a dizzying hope of soon completion of the mega star project.
However, all seems not to be well in the NDDC house as the Commission embarks on misadventure of desilting of water ways at the expense of other critical needs in the region.
Truly, the desilting of water ways is highly appreciated in this rainy season for navigation and erosion control but not at the huge contract sum of between five hundred million and nine hundred million for one award.
More so, about two hundred contracts for the desilting water ways are awarded with estimated cost of above five hundred million naira for each totalling almost one hundred billion naira, if not even more. NDDC pays more attention to the desilting contracts more than regular contracts and needs.
While the contractors for the desilting of the water ways are smiling to the banks, other contractors of the Commission who have done more than sixty percent of their projects; and some projects completed with estimated costs of between twenty to three hundred million naira are yet to be paid.
And money lenders and banks from whom they obtained loans to execute those projects are breathing down their necks to defray the loans.
Ironically, some of these desilted water ways are already silting.
Though, the uncommon transformer might have directed the downward review of the total contract sum to about three hundred to four hundred million naira, which deserves an applause, it is my honest opinion that a further review of the contract sum should be done to scale down the monies to between seventy and ninety million.
Your Excellency, the scaling down is more than necessary to free funds for other critical areas of the Commission which are both capital and recurrent expenditure.
It is not surprising that with the neglect of other areas in the Commission for only the desilting, it is now practically difficult or near impossible for the Agency to pay her staff benefits and allowances.
Staff promotion arrears which have been budgeted for every year are yet to be paid.
One is pained that many retirees of the Commission who retired two or more years ago are yet to get their severance benefits.
Contractors whose bills are as low eighteen million naira to fifty million including contractors who installed transformers whose bills are low as three million naira have not received payments, for over four years after completion.
It is appalling that NDDC is still owing landlords for its respective State offices up to the tune of fifteen million naira separately for upwards of two years rent.
From the grapevine, it is learnt that some landlords are threatening to take NDDC to court for defaulting on payments.
The uncommon transformer, you can change the narrative of the Agency payments of huge monies for rent of its State offices by the NDDC either buying those property or construct befitting complexes since it is building hostels for other institutions.
My distinguished Senator, many of us who are your private supporters are expecting and appealing to you to stop the uploaded payments on the remittal platform for desilting of the water ways until a further downward review of the contract bills is carried out.
Many are waiting for you to wade your magic wand in the NDDC in order to realign it with your much praised and desired uncommon transformation personality.
It is widely known that the prevailing feelings in the Niger Delta region are that one day with God’s help, Senator God’s will Akpabio, the UNCOMMON TRANSFORMER who has the Midas touch would lead Nigeria as President.
Iruoghene Okala, A Niger Delta stakeholder wrote From Bayelsa State.
