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NDDC: Why Akpabio is most petitioned as Buhari’s minister – Aide
More than any minister in President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet, Godswill Obot Akpabio is the most petitioned by those who didn’t mean well for the development of Niger Delta region, according to the minister’s aide.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja on the update of issues on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Anthony Ekene Onwuka, Special Assistant to the Minister on Project Monitoring Committee on NDDC revealed that since Akpabio ordered a forensic audit of the Commission’s previous projects, he has had no rest from petitioners again.
According to him, the forensic audit initiated by Akpabio would unveil sharp practices with regards to authenticity of some projects or otherwise, a situation that challenged the old order, thereby, letting hell loosed with all forms of petitions to frustrate him out of office.
He said: “But l am worried that some people don’t want Akpabio to succeed; they do everything possible to sabotage him by writing all manner of petitions against him.
“However, he is an enigma and a transformer who seriously want to change the narrative in the Niger Delta region.
“I will never forget the day he was addressing his staff, and he said, ‘NDDC must succeed and Niger Delta must register uncommon development. What will I tell my children tomorrow; I must stamp my trademark, my brother, you need to see the passion for a better Niger Delta. The love for his people, I was challenged and when he said SA, go back to your office, you have my support.
“At this juncture, I want to humbly appeal to all stakeholders in the Niger Delta region to support Senator Akpabio in his efforts to make NDDC work, develop and sustain a new Niger Delta region.”
He listed another sin of Akpabio to be the completion of the NDDC headquarters office which has lasted for over 26 years before he was appointed minister.
“Since he assumed office, the Minister has completed the NDDC’s headquarters after 26 years in the works, a project that defied seven consecutive boards and many CEOs.
“When the Interim Management Committee (lMC) was accused of corruption and ineptitude, Senator Akpabio, in his struggle to succeed as a supervising minister of the agency, accepted the introduction of the appointment of an Interim Administrator by Mr President to ensure a smooth running system pending the completion of the forensic audit report before the constitution of a substantive board according to relevant sections of our constitution.
“Within this period of the Interim Administrator, the NDDC permanent site was completed and commissioned by President Buhari, saving NDDC a whopping 300 million Naira paid as yearly rent by the commission”, he said.
Onwuka, who is a Diaspora Nigerian having lived in Germany for years called on Nigerians living abroad to come home and invest in the economy, saying the system in Nigeria wasn’t different from those foreign countries, save for culture and tradition of the people.
“The system here in Nigeria is not completely different from the one we know abroad, except that our customs and values here are not the same, and these are variables that one has to contend with.
“Frankly, the Nigerian system in particular, presents a lot of interesting challenges but they are still surmountable.”
Operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS), have arrested two principal suspects involved in the killing of 16 Nigerians of Northern extraction in Uromi, Esan North East Local Government last week.
The suspects were arrested by operatives of the DSS in Uromi, following credible intelligence. Operatives of various security agencies are hunting for other key suspects involved in the unfortunate incidents
Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, had on Monday in Kano State, during a condolence visit, revealed that 14 suspects had already been arrested in connection with the killing.
Governor Okpebholo who visited the State to condole with the Government and families of the victims, had vowed that justice will be served and those involved in the killing will be brought to justice.
Governor Okpebholo had also assured families of the victims that adequate compensations will be paid.
In the latest development, the two principal suspects arrested by officials of the DSS, have been transferred to Abuja, the nation’s capital, for further interrogation and prosecution by the relevant authorities.
A Nigerian televangelist, Timothy Omotoso has been acquitted of rape after spending eight years in prison in South Africa.
Trouble started when the televangelist was accused of raping young women from his South African church, an accusation he denied when he was arrested eight years ago.
His trial was aired live I South Africa and gained interest across the country, but insisted that he was not guiltynof 32-count charges against him.
In 2018, one witness told the court she had been raped by the pastor – who ran a church in the city of Port Elizabeth – when she was 14 years old.
The presiding judge on Wednesday 1st April, 2025 delivered judgement, saying Pastor Timothy Omotoso has not bèn found guilty over this case because prosecutors had mishandled the case.
South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) shared a similar assessment, saying that “former prosecutors in the case acted improperly and the accused were not sufficiently cross-examined by the state”.
The NPA said it will now “consider its legal options”.
For his part, Mr Omotoso told the media he thanked God for the verdict.
His co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zikiswa Sitho, were also found not guilty.
Mr Omotoso was dramatically arrested at an airport in 2017 as he sought to leave the country.
His trial was the first prominent rape case to be broadcast live in a country where sexual violence is rampant.
The hearings attracted huge interest, and raised difficult questions about victims’ rights, impartiality and whether justice is best served by having television cameras in courtrooms.
Following Wednesday’s verdict, Mr Omotoso will be deported to Nigeria, South African media outlet News24 reported.
The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has declared that it has been vindicated by recent revelations from the state’s former Head of Service, Dr. George Nwaeke.
The Rivers APC Chairman, Chief Tony Okocha, stated this in a statement he personally signed and made available to journalists on Wednesday.
The former Head of Service, who recently resigned had alleged that the suspended Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, was directly responsible for the political crisis in the state and the bombing of the State House of Assembly.
In response, the Rivers State APC asserted that Nwaeke’s testimony aligns with the party’s long-held position, as frequently stated by Chief Okocha, that the suspended governor was the architect of the state’s political crisis, including masterminding the October 29, 2023, bombing of the State House of Assembly.
Chief Okocha further emphasized that Nwaeke’s account, given his high-ranking position in the state, cannot be dismissed as mere speculation.
He said attempts to discredit the former Head of Service will not deter him from exposing the alleged corruption and misconduct that the APC has repeatedly highlighted.
“What is most interesting to the APC in Rivers State as a responsible political party is that Dr. George Nwaeke’s revelations and testimonies of how suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his squad bombed the Rivers State House of Assembly is an eye witness account.
“Again , it has clearly vindicated the APC in Rivers State as the only visible and viable opposition political party in the State, and has cemented the love for the party in the heart of well meaning Rivers people as the voice of the voiceless, and the hope for a better Rivers State.
“The revelations made by the former Head of Service in Rivers State has further positioned her as a political party with high level of integrity, and the hope of Rivers people for a viable alternative to produce the Governor of Rivers State in 2027.
“The verbal attacks staged against the resigned Head of Service will not deter him from exposing the corruption within Sim Fubara’s administration, which we have consistently highlighted as the opposition party. On this matter, the APC shall function as watchdogs”, the party stated.
Chief Tony Okocha expressed confidence that security agencies would thoroughly investigate the matter.
“The APC in Rivers State strongly believes that the relevant security agencies will be professional enough to get to the root of the matter and make their findings public”, he said.
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