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NDDC Board: Akpabio Did Not Bribe Tompolo – Militant Group

Published

4 years ago

October 10, 2021

Editor

Our Reporter, Port Harcourt

A militant group, Niger Delta Redemption Frontiers, NDRF, has reacted to news report that the Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Senator Godswill Akpabio, bribed Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo with $1million to halt his earlier agitation for appointment of the substantive board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.

Recall that Tompolo had in May this year issued a seven-day ultimatum to Federal Government for urgent inauguration of a substantive NDDC baord, insisting that there was going to be consequences should the Federal Government fail to inaugurate the Board at the expiration of the ultimatum.

Recall also that an online news medium (not Info Daily) had reported that Tompolo allegedly accepted the sum of $1 million USD as appeasement to cancel his earlier 7-day ultimatum, alleging that the conciliation is the reason why a substantive board is yet to be inaugurated for NDDC.

Briefing newsmen at the weekend in Port Harcourt, NDRF said that there was never a time before, during or after the said meeting with the minister where any amount of money was given to Tompolo, describing the report as false and baseless.

Leader of the group, Abalagha Enai said that the news report was only a figment of the writer’s imagination and warned “perpetuators of evil news to stop distracting the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and the Interim Administrator of NDDC, Mr. Efiong Akwa from carrying out the good works of developing the region.”

He said: “President Muhammadu Buhari called for meeting of Niger Delta stakeholders and pleaded that we should remain calm that a substantive board will be inaugurated immediately after the forensic audit is completed, submitted and accepted. We agreed with him. Not for anything, but for the respect we have for the exalted office of Mr. President. How then will someone come to say that Tompolo was bribed to back down on his earlier 7-day ultimatum for the board to be inaugurated?

“We’ve heard of so many reports against the Honourable Minister but all what we have to tell the carriers of evil news is that Senator Akpabio is doing well as minister. To say that funds in the NDDC are turned to personal use is a disservice to the revered minister.

“First, they should know that NDDC’s budget is still pending at the Senate and that the meagre funds expended by the commission is directly from the Presidency and available records show that it has been judiciously used. Or haven’t we seen that for the first time in the history of NDDC that abandoned projects are being completed and commissioned? Look at what will happen any moment from now as a result of the just concluded forensic audit.

“Also, Mr. Efiong Akwa’s tenure as the head of administration in NDDC is so rewarding. Let it also be on records that Akpabio is not try change the signature of Mr. Akwa in the Single Treasury Account, TSA. And it is not also true that Efiong is a puppet of Akpabio in the NDDC. Every payment done is documented and can be accounted for. They should also know that Efiong is a Certified Accountant with many years of experience.

“Besides, the duo of Akpabio and Effiong won’t dare not try anything to tannish their image after going through the rough path of forensic auditing. Efiong has been consistent and pragmatic in his line of duties; always in the office to attend to issues demanding his attention and sometimes stays in the office into the wee hours of the night. He has never deprived anybody of his presence and we can boast of his erudite leadership style in the commission.

“They also said that Akpabio threatened Akwa with a ‘sack’ when he refused to sign for payment. How did come about the information when they also said that it took place in a private meeting between the minister and the NDDC IA? Those are all fabrications from the minds of unclean fellows. They should have mentioned the payment Mr. Akwa refused to sign which prompted Akpabio say ‘pay or I sack you.

“So, we want to use this as the greatest medium to warn perpetuators of evil things to desist from it or we will be forced to react in a more surprising manner next time. No man or group has the monopoly of violence. The people trying to create unnecessary tension in Niger Delta should desist from it. We also want to advise their sponsors to learn the ways of peace, which is the only way to achieve our long-desired development,” Messiah said.

Headline

42 Killed In Israeli Attacks, Says Gaza’s Civil Defense

Published

13 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 42 people killed in Israeli attacks on Sunday, as the Israeli army prepared for a new assault on the Palestinian territory’s largest city.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said there had been several air strikes around Gaza City — which the military is gearing up to capture — including one in the Al-Sabra neighbourhood that killed eight people.

Attacks were also reported elsewhere across the territory, he said, with the “total tally currently rising to 42 dead”.

The army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the figure.

“The situation is extremely dangerous… Each day, each minute, there are bombings, martyrs, death and blood — we can’t take it anymore,” Al-Sabra resident Ibrahim Al-Shurafa told AFP, explaining strikes and shelling were ongoing.

“We don’t know where to go. Death follows us everywhere,” he added.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

The October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,686 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

AFP

Headline

Venezuela Frees Eight Opposition Leaders

Published

14 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Venezuelan authorities released eight opposition leaders from jail early Sunday, including a former congressman and two Italian citizens, and granted house arrest to five others, an opposition politician said.

Most of those released had been charged with corruption in opposition-run mayoral offices.

Also set free was Congressman, Amirico de Grazia, detained amid protests that erupted during President Nicolas Maduro’s reelection in 2024.

“Today, several families are once again embracing their loved ones. We know there are many left, and we have not forgotten them; we continue to fight for everyone,” two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said on X.

Opposition leaders Victor Jurado, Simon Vargas, Arelis Ojeda Escalante, Mayra Castro, Diana Berrio, Gorka Carnevalli, as well as Italian nationals Margarita Assenzo and de Grazia were released, Capriles said.

Nabil Maalouf, Valentin Gutierrez Pineda, Rafael Ramirez, Pedro Guanipa, and David Barroso were placed under house arrest.

The Italian government confirmed the release of de Grazia and Assenzo, who must appear in court to clarify the conditions of their release. It also vowed to continue working on securing the release of other detained Italians.

“We have always said, and we maintain it: we will talk to whomever we need to talk to so that there is not a single political prisoner in our Venezuela!” Capriles added.

AFP

Headline

Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians

Published

14 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Russia and Ukraine each sent back more prisoners of war on Sunday in the latest in a series of exchanges that have seen hundreds of POWs released this year, the two sides said.

Large-scale prisoner exchanges were the only tangible result of three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul between May and July.

They remain one of the few areas of cooperation between the two countries since Russia’s offensive began in 2022.

“On August 24, 146 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled” by Kyiv, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram.

“In exchange, 146 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred” to Ukraine, it added. Ukraine did not confirm any figures for the release.

Russia also said that “eight citizens of the Russian Federation—residents of the Kursk region, illegally detained” by Kyiv were also returned.

Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August last year, seizing hundreds of square kilometres (miles) of territory in a major setback for the Kremlin.

Russia deployed thousands of troops from its ally North Korea as part of a counterattack but did not fully reclaim the region until April.

Among the Ukrainians released on Sunday was journalist Dmytro Khyliuk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Khyliuk was kidnapped in the Kyiv region in March 2022. He is finally home in Ukraine,” Zelensky said on social media.

Also freed was former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolayenko, “who spent more than three years in captivity,” Zelensky’s aide Andriy Yermak wrote on X.

“In 2022, he was on the list for return, but Volodymyr voluntarily refused to be exchanged in favour of a seriously ill prisoner with whom he was sharing a cell in a Russian prison,” Yermak said.

AFP