Niger Delta leaders, under the aegis of Standard Initiative for Peace Building Development (SIPBD), have said that the people of the area had over the years been calling for the probing of the financial records of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The leaders who stated this Sunday in Abuja also advised youths from the region not to allow themselves to be used as thugs to perpetuate violence.

Passing a vote of confidence on Godswill Akpabio, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, the leaders, in a statement by their spokesman, Bishop Alfred Etuk, said that the controversy surrounding the appointment of NDDC’s Steering Management Committee should be put to rest so that members of the committee could function effectively.

The Niger Delta leaders said, “As lovers of our region, we strongly advise that the sponsored and impertinent brouhaha over the appointment of the NDDC’s Steering Management Committee be put to rest to allow them focus on providing a conducive environment for the forensic auditors to do their jobs.

This, they said, was to pave way for the many deprived indigenes of the region to benefit from the goodwill of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“This probe is what most people from the region have been calling for over the years, the reason being that various classes of people have expropriated and appropriated the common wealth of the Niger Delta region to themselves, thereby depriving the region of the needed infrastructure.

“It is in the interest of the people of the region not to allow themselves to be used to make infelicitous remarks by certain political figures who as ministers, also have their various departments and agencies they oversee without any interference from the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the appointment of the NDDC Steering Committee is a policy directive to enhance the functionality of the probe and better situate the ND News Express DC for the forthcoming board,” they said. (Daily Independent)

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