Daniel Kanu
Niger Delta civil society coalition , United Niger Delta Energy Development Security Strategy UNDEDSS has cautioned the National Assembly to thread with caution in the use of its oversight powers to enrich themselves, lamenting that their actions are becoming counter-productive and slowing down well-meaning programs and projects of the Federal Government and its MDAs.
The group warned that the NASS has deviated from its core responsibilities while getting attracted more to issues that would guarantee personal gains rather than the general good, noting that the law makers are throwing all kinds of spurious spanners to frustrate President Mohammadu Buhari’s orders, particularly, it’s vital program designed to get Covid19 palliatives to the Niger Delta.
A statement signed by its Executive Secretary, Comrade Tony I Uranta, made available to Daily Sun, UNDEDSS pointed to the ongoing confusion between the Labour Ministry and the NASS, currently threatening to stifle the well-meaning orders of President Buhari to, via the Ministry of Labour, create socio-economic welfare nets reaching directly to the constitutionally recognized 774 Local Government Areas of the country with 774,000, job opportunities.
Part of the statement reads “We are calling on all Concerned Nigerians to rise as one and demand that the National Assembly NASS Leadership ceases to prey on the good people of Nigeria by attempting always to use their oversight powers to enrich themselve; illegally pad budgets; and, slow down well-meaning programs and projects of the Federal Government and its MDAs.
“The National Assembly NASS is throwing all kinds of spurious spanners in the way of President Buhari’s desire to be perceived as an empathetic leader via deflating the economy, no matter for how long, and the UNDEDSS equates this to how the same NASS leadership seem hell-bent to scuttle the FGN’s extremely vital program designed to get Covid19 palliatives to the Niger Delta, via the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC, in these tragic times.
“We see a pattern in the way Keyamo, Akpabio, etc are facing campaigns of calumny, which the pattern has been in existence since the inception of this largely shady 4th Republic. A situation whereby every Ministry, Department, and Agency of the FGN has budgets held to ransom, until the NASS leadership is allowed to both pad the budgets, and also share out the ‘juicy’ contracts amongst themselves and their proxies can no longer be tolerated by Nigerians.
“if this National Assembly is allowed to continue browbeating everybody, in an obvious attempt to show up Buhari as a toothless anti-corruption crusader, the Niger Delta and others may soon resort to self-help, decide that it is time to resort, once again, to mass action, and action by unknown hoodlums such as succeeded in stealing the Senate’s Mace in broad light. We want peace, justice and equity, therefore we may need to resort to unorthodox means”.