youth that still supports alleged criminally-
minded leaders from the Niger Delta seriously
need prayers
- Effiong accused politicians from the region as
responsible for the hardship being faced by
people of the Niger Delta currently
- The lawyer accused former President
Goodluck Jonathan of making stealing a part of
his administration's policy
Human rights lawyer and public defender, Barrister
Inibehe Effiong, has alleged that the fund stolen by
former Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom
state is enough to fund the budget of neighbouring
Ebonyi for two decades.
Effiong made the allegation in a lengthy article on
social media where he condemned youths in the
Niger Delta region for being in solidarity with their
leaders who actually plunged the zone into its sorry
state.
Akpabio, now the minority leader of the Nigerian
Senate, could not be reached for his reaction.
“If you are from the Niger Delta and you are not
ashamed of and disgusted by the criminals that we
call our leaders in the region, you need more than
prayers.
Effiong said Akpabio stole much from Akwa Ibom
state as governor
“Politicians in the region have continued to point
their corrupt accusing fingers at the rest of the
country to evade taking responsibility for their
criminal mass looting of oil revenues accruing to the
region,” he said while lamenting that much of the
region's funds have been stolen and misappropriated by the same politicians from the Niger Delta.
The lawyer, who is from Akwa Ibom alleged that in
the last 10 years, nearly N3 trillion accrued to the
state from the Federation and Excess Crude Accounts.
He said: “What do we have to show for it? Over 65
percent of the money has been stolen by politicians,
criminals in government and perverts. The poverty
level is worsening, while few people are acquiring
multi-billion Naira properties across the globe.
“The money that was stolen from Akwa Ibom state
alone under the administration of Godswill Akpabio
could have funded the annual budget(s) of Ebonyi
state for the next two to three decades.
“Instead of us demanding accountability from our
leaders, we have chosen to look at Abuja as the
beginning and the end of our existence.
Effiong slammed the youths of the Niger Delta for
supporting those who allegedly looted the region
“Have we really queried the utilisation of the
hundreds of billions that has accrued to the Niger
Delta Development Commission (NDDC) since its
establishment? Do we care whether the bulk of the
funds have been stolen and misappropriated?
“It is reported that ‘N425 billion worth of contracts
awarded by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs
between 2009 and 2015 down the drain with only 18
percent completion of projects and 8 percent impact.
In most cases, contractors and government officials
just collected the money and vamoosed, leaving the communities in penury and squalor’.”
Effiong said he supports resource control, but also
supports management of resources with more
vigour.
“When Goodluck Jonathan was the President of
Nigeria, he made looting and stealing an official policy
of his administration.
“Jonathan was so terrible. Today, nobody can point
at a single project in Akwa Ibom state that can be
traced to the Jonathan regime. Even Governor Henry
Seriake Dickson recently declared that Jonathan's
regime was a failure.
“Yet, we find some tribal and regional bigots from
the Niger Delta defending the same Jonathan on
social media simply because ‘he is our brother’;
our thief, and not their thief.
Effiong alleged that Jonathan made stealing a policy
of his government
“Is this a sane way to live?
“I am not saying that the federal government has
not failed the people of the Niger Delta.
“But which region has really been developed by the
Federal Government over the years. We are all
victims of mis-governance in Nigeria.
“My point is that we should stop localizing and
ethnitizing corruption and incompetence. The people
of the Niger Delta must rise and demand
accountability from their leaders, not just the federal
government,” he advised.
Meanwhile, former President Goodluck Jonathan recently called Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna
state a pathological liar as the duo clashed over how
the country's Ecological Fund was reportedly
distributed under the immediate past administration.
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