Some prominent citizens under the aegis of the League of Niger Delta Elders have blasted the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government for failing to deliver on its many promises made to the Niger Delta region.

In an open letter addressed to Governor Solomon Lalong of Plateau State, who doubles as Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign, the group noted that the situation has taken the region backwards in terms of development.

The letter which was sighted on Saturday was written by the group spokesman, Oyintari Peretimi who said, “As the 2023 general election draws nigh, it has become crucial to express our displeasure with the ruling All Progressives Congress, on their failed promises to the oil-rich Niger Delta region.

“The alarm raised by Senator Godswill Akpabio, the erstwhile Minister of Niger Delta Affairs that the Niger Delta Development Commission is on “life support”, is a reality which has taken the region aback, and is disrupting the developmental story of the region that is begging to be written in gold.

“The deliberate failure of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC government to constitute a substantive NDDC Board is a minus in their achievements, especially as they leave office in a few months’ time.

“This Gestapo-like decision has left the NDDC leadership in the hands of a sole administratior for too long. This has in turn botched the working relationship between the NDDC, international oil companies,l and the Niger Delta Ministry.

“These bureaucracies are largely responsible for the trapping of funds which would have been used to fast-track payment to contractors for projects executed in the region” the group stated.

The letter posited that the East-West road still lies uncompleted.

“The report of the NDDC forensic audit which revealed that as much as 13,000 projects remain uncompleted across the region, is yet to be made public.

“To this end, and as a matter of urgency to score some valid points before leaving office, the current administration can still salvage itself,” Peretimi wrote. (Saturday Independent)

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