Abe Blames Insecurity In Niger Delta On Insincere Political Leadership

Following reported cases of insecurity being experienced in the Niger Delta region of the country, the immediate past Senator representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Magnus Abe has blamed the situation on insincerity of political leadership in the zone.

Abe disclosed this while speaking at the 2019 Niger Delta CEOs Summit, with the theme: “Economic Revitalization for Sustainable Development”, which held at the Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt.

In a statement by his Spokesperson, Parry Saroh Benson dated July 2, 2019 quotes Senator Abe as saying: “The scenario I will like to point out, about the issue of insecurity in the Niger Delta, is to say that insecurity in this region started out of the insincerity of the political leadership.

“It is sustained in large part by political leaders who are determined to control the rest of us, by all means, fair and foul, and so, they sponsor and protect violent youths to intimidate the rest of us and control the political space.”

Speaking further Senator Abe expressed shock over a statement credited to the  Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Professor Nelson Brambraifa, that sought to disparage the Niger Delta CEO’s Summit for political reasons, describing the statement as unfortunate, unfounded and uncalled for.

He said: “I was shocked and stunned beyond words, that the Managing Director issued that statement because he was not politically comfortable with some of the persons invited here and I asked myself; how can we develop the Niger Delta with this kind of thinking”?

“How can we? I mean if you didn’t want to attend, you could quietly stay away. I was planning to quietly stay away. You could send somebody to represent you. If they asked you for sponsorship or for support and you didn’t want to give the support, it is your prerogative.

“You have been giving money to people in all sorts of empowerment schemes that empowers nobody. When I heard that, I said, I will come. We must all condemn the kind of behavior that will place politics above development.”

“It does not help the Niger Delta. We should have the courage to say what is right and insist that the right things be done.”

The former Chairman, Senate Committee on FERMA, urged the CEOs to join to make politics in the region right in order to prevent politicians from using government to mess up their business.

Abe said: “You cannot sit here as CEOs and pretend that what happens in politics will not affect your business, because at the end of the day if you don’t get the politics right every other thing will be wrong, because they will simply use the government to mess up your business.

“Let all political leaders commit to the principle that they will not send their followers on any errand or mission that they themselves will not undertake and to which they will not send their own children.

“Politics is one of the root causes of insecurity, if you doubt me, simply look at the level of violence in the Niger Delta on Election Day and during electioneering campaigns.

“We cannot armed boys, feed them, instigate violence during elections and then after the elections we begin to talk and pretend that we do not know what is going on or when the society begins to fall apart, we act as if we don’t know what is at the bottom of it.

“If we take violence out of our politics, violence in the society will reduce to manageable proportions. There is violence everywhere in the world, but violence can only spiral out of proportion when it is state-sponsored or state tolerated.

“Furthermore, if we take violence out of our elections, it will not only solve the problem of insecurity in the Niger Delta but we will enthrone good governance, because it will substantially reduce godfatherism as it will become impossible for any leader to singlehandedly handpick every member of the House of Assembly and every Local Government Chairman.

“Once the two factors above are under control, if we enforce the law fairly and impartially, and create effective mechanisms for review of state actions because the state some time; can also be a problem to the citizens. We should punish state actors that violate the rules and also punish private actors that seek to compromise the system either by bribery or by deceit.

“Once these three difficult conditions are met, insecurity will fall drastically and investments will grow”.

Earlier, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Chairman of the occasion called on CEOs in the Niger Delta to invest in agriculture as an alternative to oil.

According to the former Minister of State for Agriculture; agriculture is the largest employer of labour and such investment will reduce unemployment and agitations in the Niger Delta.

In his address, facilitator of the Niger Delta CEOs Summit, Ernest Sorgwe said the programme is put together yearly to stir up the right conversation among the people of the Niger Delta.

“We do it to stir up the necessary conversation to change the narrative because a place is not made by the name but by the people who live in the environment”.

In a related development, the NDDC has reacted to the alleged media attacks against it.

The commission noted that the attacks all bear the hallmark of a carefully designed campaigned aimed at bringing down the executive management of the commission and mar its ability to deliver on its mandate as an interventionist agency.

In a statement by the Director of Corporate Affairs of the NDDC, Charles Obi Odili said the campaign started with petitions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, alleging financial impropriety when there was none.

Part of the statement read: “It is instructive to note that officials of the crime commission being persons with proven intellect and integrity, saw through the pack of lies, and this exonerated the executive management from any malfeasance. The discerning public also saw through the monumental lie, as no person or entity in Nigeria can withdraw N2.8 billion, in cash, across the counter.

“Next came allegations of the ‘Squandering of N750 billion by the executive management in four months ‘. Laughable as allegation sounds, it has been repeated in several online platforms. Thankfully, none of the mainstream media outlets has caught on to this for the simple reason that the allegations defies common sense.

“For a start, the entire budget of the commission in the last two years is not up to that amount. Funds available to the commission in the last two years, is nowhere near the amount. How anyone can claim a commission can squander what it does not have beats the imagination. Any one conversant with public sector rules, and the strict financial regulations enforced by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari , will know that a government agency cannot spend what amounts to more than twice it’s two year’s budget in four months.

“The allegations against the commission flies in the face of the excellent work the present executive management, led by Prof Nelson Brambaifa has done to deliver on its core mandate of developing the region. This executive management on assumption of office drew up a strategy of intervention to kick start the economy of the region and drive progressive development. As a result, it decided to tackle the mountain of debt owed to contractors. As part of that process, payment had commenced for those owed N20 million and below.

“Dome of these date back to 2008. These debts, were not incurred nor contracts awarded by the present management. Those who have been paid did not need to engage with the commission before being paid. This, in fact, is a sea change in contractual responsibility on the part of the commission.

“The executive management had also cleared all arrears of tuition and maintenance fees owed scholars of the commission studying abroad. In the last four months, at least N2 billion have been remitted. The liability in respect of the scholars dates back to 2018, before this executive management assumed office on January 25, 2019.

“The commission has also prioritised key projects for completion. One of such, is the N24 billion 29 kilometre Ogbia Nembe road which is due for commissioning. This road creates a land route to Nembe, and also opens up arable lands for economic activity.

“The management has also embarked on the emergency repair of roads. One of such roads, Reclamation Road in Port Harcourt had revived the fortunes of the Nigerian Naval Shipyard, and dozens of industries in the vicinity of the Port Harcourt Port.

“As part of its strategy, the management has also focused on small population segments who are often neglected. It has intervened in women and youth empowerment as well as providing support for those with disability.

“Another priority of this management is the completion of the head office project, which it is pursuing with relentless vigour.

“The executive management, made up of only technocrats, is working assiduously to address the multifarious challenges of development of the region. It is doing this in the face of scarce resources.

“For the purpose of clarity, the revenue inflow to the commission is an average of N7 billion a month. Rather than become the victim of a smear campaign, this management deserves acclaim. We are happy that the ordinary people of the region (silent majority) who are beneficiaries of the work of the present management in the past four months have appreciated our efforts and given resounding approval.

“We wish to plead with the political class not to see the commission as a collateral target in the fight for power and influence. The NDDC is an interventionist agency. We have a sacred duty to the people of the region and sue for the latitude to deliver on our historic mandate. 
“The NDDC is working for the common good, for the corporate citizens of the Niger delta region,” the statement added.