Wike alleges NASS under pressure to pass NDDC budget for elections’ sake

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has alleged that the National Assembly is under pressure to pass the budget of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), not to develop the region, but to raise funds for this year’s elections.

Governor Wike spoke on Monday when delegations from media houses visited him at the Government House in Port Harcourt to present letters of nomination as the Leadership Politician of the Year 2022 and the Sun Courage in Leadership Award 2022.

The Governor described the five hundred (500) billion naira budget proposal of the commission as a fraud, quarrying the importance of some of its provisions.

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He said it is irrelevant for the NDDC to propose a whopping sum of four (4) Billion Naira for the desilting of drainages and another sixty (60) billion naira for security agencies.

Governor Wike wondered why a commission that “has not completed one road in one year”, despite being established to develop key infrastructures in the Niger Delta region, is allocating such an amount of money to clean drainages and build structures for security agencies.

He also queried the relevance of the Niger Delta Ministry which was created in 2008 to coordinate efforts to tackle the changes in infrastructure development, environmental protection, and youth empowerment in the Niger Delta.

He says all that the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs does, is supervise the activities of the NDDC, a situation he says further puts pressure on the commission.

Governor Nyesom Wike also spoke on the crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He went down memory lane to recall how the party betrayed his trust and confidence when the convention committee reopened a foreclosed window to allow a Presidential Aspirant, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State to relaunch a campaign after all the aspirants had spoken.

He said Governor Tambuwal did not only announce his withdrawal from the race, which is of no offense to him but was allowed to instruct his supporters on who to vote for.

Wike said the PDP Presidential Primary was completely marred by irregularities by the fact that Governor Tambuwal was allowed to launch a fresh campaign after all the aspirants were given the time to speak and voting was about to begin.

Governor Wike told the delegation of media managers and editors that he decided to forge ahead despite the fraud perpetrated by his party, believing that equity will be done in the holding of party positions and that its National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu will resign as allegedly promised.

He explained how he could have taken up legal action against the PDP, but for the love, he has for the party he sacrificed a lot to rebuild when it was abandoned.

He said while he has not reneged on his promise at the convention ground to support whoever that emerges as the Candidate, the other party must also fulfill its promise.

Governor Wike said he cannot join the PDP Presidential campaign to tell lies about it prospect to do things differently in the country when its leadership has not been able to effect minor internal changes.