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Abuja Cartel Still Runs NDDC Despite Akpabio’s Exit, N’Delta Stakeholders Notify Buhari

Published

4 years ago

May 21, 2022

Stakeholders drawn from the Niger Delta, weekend, notified President Muhammadu Buhari that a powerful cabal in Abuja connected to the Presidency was still holding the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, by the balls, despite the resignation of Senator Godswill Akpabio as Minister of Niger-Delta Affairs.

Saddened by the forgoing, the stakeholders called on Buhari to stop the desperate cabal before it succeeds in its mission of ruining the agency and without much ado.

They urged him to hearken to the cry of the people to inaugurate the governing board of NDDC, screened and approved since 2019 by the Senate.

They explained further that the cabal have been undermining the oil region and suggested to President Buhari what should be done to give a kiss of life to the rudderless organization.

Speaking, National Publicity Secretary, Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, Hon. Ken Robinson, said: “We do not suppose that Akpabio was the main problem of NDDC.

“The primary problem is the callous indifference of the Buhari presidency to issues of the Niger Delta region. Under the supervision of Senator Godswill Akpabio as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, NDDC was attenuated to a political porch with all manner of deplorable theatrics.

“The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs in itself was virtually reduced to a bureau of NDDC, but Mr. President watched on like an uninterested spectator. We, therefore, do not expect any reasonable changes in the administration of the NDDC under this presidency despite the said resignation of Godswil Akpabio; let them prove us wrong.”

On his part, President, Ijaw National Congress, INC, Prof Benjamin Okaba, informed Buhari: “Set up /inaugurate the governing board according to the laws establishing the NDDC without further delay. Provide the needful to enable the new board function maximally.”

Also lending his voice to the call, Publisher of Environment Watch, Elder Braeyi Ekiye, said: “The ingenious contrivance to get the NDDC administered through the interim administration was a calculated attempt to advance the cause of power brokers in Abuja, whose main interest, together with their collaborators, is to rip the commission clean and dry of its financial allocations, so much so that, it has unfortunately stultified the region’s rapid socio-economic and infrastructural transformation.”

”It is our ardent hope that the on-going despicable ‘dance of the devil’ in the NDDC in wild celebration of the Forensic Audit Report put away in the coolers would stop forthwith, with the unceremonious departure of Senator Godswill Akpabio, lord of the estate of the Commission.

“As long as this masquerade dance lasts, the dark clouds of the dance shall continue to provide cover for the task masters and their comrades-in- arm to scoop remnants of fast depleting financial resources of the interventionist agency.”

Former national president, Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Eric Omare, Esq., who raved on Akpabio, said: “We Niger Deltans based on verifiable facts strongly believed that Akpabio was responsible for the mismanagement of NDDC in the past three years. Now that he is out of the way, we expect President Buhari to immediately publish the outcome of the forensic audit, bring those who have embezzled.

“NDDC resources to book and as a matter of importance, inaugurate the board of the NDDC in line with its establishment Act. However, I doubt if this would done because the cabal members who have been with Akpabio I do not think are out of government. They may still be in the corridors of power and continue with the NDDC”, he said.

For Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Warri branch, Chief Emmanuel Uti: “I do not subscribe to the notion that it was Senator Akpabio that frustrated the NDDC board. My opinion is that, it is President Buhari that was not keen on the existence of the board. My take is that Senator Akpabio out or not, it all depends on the President’s disposition.”

Constitutional lawyer, Dr. Akpor Mudiaga-Odje, intoned: “With or without Akpabio, what we, the pauperized people of the Niger Delta, earnestly yearn for is inauguration without any further delay, the board as duly cleared by the Senate in 2019, almost three years ago.”

Chairman, Centre for Environmental Preservation and Development, CEPAD, Surv. Furoebi Akene, said: “To start with, subjecting the supervision/overseeing of the NDDC to the Minister (Ministry) of Niger Delta Affairs is illegal and is a misnomer against the provisions of the NDDC establishment Act of 2000. The Act put the NDDC under the supervision by the presidency.”

Spokesman, Niger Delta Rights Advocates and All Progressives Congress chieftain in Rivers, Darlington Nwauju, said: “And as the appointer, President Buhari should immediately appoint substantive Ministers to that Ministry with a matching order to inaugurate a substantive board for the NDDC, publish the report of the forensic audit on NDDC and lastly, deliver on the East-West Road project.”

Chairman Board of Trustees, Centre for Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Crusade, CHURAC, Cleric Ebikonbowei Alaowei, Esq., said: “We pray that nothing should bring Akpabio back to that office again. Buhari should also immediately inaugurate the NDDC board if he means well for the development of the Niger Delta region. Mr. President should take immediate steps to investigate the commission for the periods Sen. Akpabio held it sway.”

On his part, President Ijaw Professionals Association (Homeland Chapter), which comprises Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers, Iniruo Wills, asserted: “The president and presidency cabal obviously do not give a hoot whether there is NDDC or it has a lawful management or not.

“The Niger Delta will remember this president as the one who set a notorious record of allowing NDDC to be under a series of illegal managements for four and a half years, which is more than the full four-year term prescribed even for a legitimate Governing Board by the enabling law.

”Obviously, the president does not have any lawyer around that can give him conscionable advice on the matter, so if he likes let him appoint a Pakistani as the next NDDC sole administrator. We are tired of complaining about this unprecedented executive callousness. At worst, in another one year we can say good riddance”, he added.

VANGUARD.

Related Topics:INC NDDC PANDEF Prof Okaba

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Woman Passes Out After Receiving 100 Strokes Of Cane

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

A woman has passed out after she and her partner were each flogged 100 times in public for engaging in sex outside marriage under strict Sharia laws in Indonesia’s Aceh province.

The woman, whose identity was not disclosed, was later carried away after the punishment was carried out in Banda Aceh, located at the northern tip of Sumatra island on Thursday.

A masked official dressed in brown robes administered the caning before members of the public who gathered to witness the punishment.

Her partner was also seen wincing in pain while receiving the lashes.

The pair were among several individuals punished for violating Sharia regulations in the province.

Authorities from the Banda Aceh Sharia Court and the Prosecutor’s Office handed down punishments ranging from 25 to 100 lashes for offences including extramarital sex allegedly arranged through online applications.

Aceh remains the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia operating under Sharia law, where unmarried couples are prohibited from having sexual relations.

Caning is commonly used in the province as punishment for offences such as gambling, alcohol consumption, same-sex relations and sex outside marriage.

Under Aceh’s Sharia regulations, child rape offenders face some of the harshest penalties, including up to 200 strokes of the cane, a prison sentence of as long as 200 months or fines equivalent to two kilograms of gold.

The punishments are usually carried out publicly as a way of shaming offenders in addition to inflicting physical pain.

Such canings are often conducted outside mosques or in open public spaces, with residents watching and taking photographs during the exercise.

Human rights organisations have continued to condemn the practice, arguing that it causes emotional trauma and violates international human rights standards.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly criticised the punishments, saying they conflict with Indonesia’s constitution and global legal obligations.

Amnesty said in a statement: “Caning contravenes Indonesia’s constitution and is in clear violation of international human rights law and standards.

‘It constitutes a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and can amount to torture in violation of the UN Convention against Torture and other international covenants, to which Indonesia is a State Party.’”

Despite the criticism, local authorities have defended the punishments as part of Aceh’s religious and cultural identity, insisting they serve as a deterrent against immoral behaviour.

Earlier in January, another couple in the province reportedly received 140 lashes each after being found guilty of drinking alcohol and engaging in sex outside marriage.

(Daily Mail)

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Senegal’s President Sacks Prime Minister After Months-long Feud

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4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has sacked Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government following months of rising political tension between the two former allies.

The decision was announced in a surprise decree read on national television by a presidential aide, stating that Faye had “ended the duties” of Sonko and “consequently those of the ministers and secretaries of state who are members of the government”.

Sonko, who remains a highly influential figure among Senegal’s youth, responded on social media, saying he would “sleep with a light heart”.

The political fallout comes at a time of growing economic strain in the country, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) putting Senegal’s public debt at 132% of its GDP.

His removal followed a tense parliamentary session on Tuesday, where Sonko openly criticised President Faye’s handling of the debt situation.

The development is striking given that Faye’s rise to power was largely tied to Sonko’s popularity and political backing.

Sonko would almost certainly have contested the presidency himself in 2024, but was barred from the race due to a defamation conviction. Instead, he threw his support behind Faye, rallying voters with the slogan “Diomaye is Sonko, Sonko is Diomaye”.

The alliance helped unseat former President Macky Sall in a dramatic electoral victory, despite both men having been released from prison only days before the vote.

Tensions between the two leaders had been building for months, with Faye reportedly accusing Sonko of excessive dominance within the ruling Pastef party, while Sonko accused the president of weak leadership and failing to defend him against critics.

(BBC News)

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Six Nigerians Arrested In Thailand Over AI-Powered Romance Scam

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

Six Nigerian nationals have been arrested by the Thailand Police Force for allegedly operating an AI-powered deepfake romance scam syndicate from a luxury condominium along the Chao Phraya River in Nonthaburi Province, following a cocaine trafficking investigation that exposed their activities.

Thai authorities said the operation began after police arrested a Nigerian suspect identified as Patrick and three associates in April over alleged drug trafficking offences. During the raid, officers reportedly seized assets valued at about 2.5 million baht.

Investigators said financial transactions linked to the suspects led them to several foreign nationals living in a high-end riverside condominium near Phra Nangklao Bridge in Nonthaburi. Police discovered that many of the occupants were staying in groups of five or six per apartment under student visas despite not being enrolled in any educational institution or engaged in lawful employment.

According to Thai police, officers executed search warrants on three condominium units on May 22. The suspects allegedly refused to open their doors, forcing authorities to break into the apartments.

Videos circulating on X captured the moment police officers forcefully gained entry into one of the apartments before arresting the suspects.

During the operation, one suspect reportedly attempted to escape by climbing over a balcony, while another was found hiding on the bathroom floor while allegedly sending warning messages to occupants in neighbouring units.

Police recovered 18 mobile phones, three laptop computers and three bank passbooks from the apartments. Authorities said some of the phones were still logged into active conversations with victims at the time of the raid.

Investigators alleged that the syndicate specialised in romance scams targeting older Thai women by using AI-generated faces and manipulated video calls to create fake online identities.

The suspects allegedly posed as pilots, United States military officers, doctors and engineers to gain the trust of victims before requesting money under false pretences.

Police said the fraudsters typically claimed that valuable packages or gifts sent to victims had been withheld by customs officials and required payment of clearance fees before release.

Authorities also said they recovered scripts for sexually explicit conversations allegedly used to emotionally manipulate victims into transferring funds. Investigators claimed the group relied heavily on artificial intelligence technology to generate realistic Western faces for fake video interactions.

Thai police said all six suspects are currently facing preliminary charges bordering on illegal association and immigration overstay, while additional fraud and romance scam charges are expected to follow as investigations continue.