The Honourable Minister of the Niger Delta
Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, CON said
his attention been drawn to a cornucopia of false, malicious, and libellous
press interviews granted by Ms. GBENE JOI NUNIEH, the erstwhile Acting Managing
Director of the Interim Management Committee, of the Niger Delta Development
Commission, (NDDC) in some news and social media platforms and a series of
concerted vicious campaigns of calumny deviously orchestrated by her against
his person ranging from allegation of corruption, sexual and workplace
harassments, pipelines bombings, secret cult activities, abuse of office,
amongst other lies peddled by her.
The Honourable Minister’s initial attitude was to
allow his lawyers and the judicial system vindicate him of the false
allegations against him, but he is compelled to react to some of the wayward
allegations levied against his person by Ms. Nunieh, especially the one
bothering on sexual harassment.
To start with, let it be known that there is no
scintilla of truth in all the allegations peddled around by Ms. Nunieh. They
are simply false! The Honourable Minister did not at any time, place or
circumstance make any form of sexual advances to Ms. Nunieh, not even to put
himself in a position or posture suggestive of sexual advances towards Ms.
Nunieh, or any female staff of his Ministry or the NDDC.
For the records, the Honourable Minister, Senator
Godswill Akpabio, CON is happily married and contented with his wife. Together
they are blessed with children, four (4) of whom are young women. The
Honourable Minister is an avid believer of the Affirmative Action and that was
visible in the appointments he made as a two (2) term Executive Governor of
Akwa Ibom State between 2007 and 2015. Under his watch, he appointed several
women into various high level positions as
Chairpersons of Local Government Councils,
Magistrates, Judges, Heads of Parastatals, Directors, Permanent Secretaries,
and Commissioners.
He is the first Governor in Akwa Ibom State to have
a female Deputy Governor, was also the first to appoint female Chief Justices
of the High Court, recommended women for ministerial appointments one of whom
was the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, and supported for
appointment the first female Vice Chancellor of the only Federal University in
the State etc. He has always championed and still champions the cause of women
and young children.
Whilst the Governor of Akwa-Ibom State, the
Honourable Minister summoned the political will and effrontery to stop modern day
slavery in his state, where young women and children were ferried away from the
State to other states in Nigeria to be used for all sorts of menial chores as
house maids and most suffered unimaginable unethical trade malpractices and
maltreatments. He ensured that anyone caught in that trade was severely
punished. He signed the Child Rights Law to protect children, especially the
girl child from stigmatization and punishment by ordeal where some were
executed or banished on allegation of witchcraft. The Child Rights Law also
made primary and secondary education in Akwa Ibom State free and compulsory;
educating the girl child was his topmost priority.
The Honourable Minister has never hidden his
admiration and respect for his wife, Mrs. Ekaete Akpabio, Children and sisters,
he therefore felt compelled to react to the malicious attack on his person by
Ms. Nunieh bothering on allegations of sexual harassment. The Honourable
Minister therefore finds the said allegation nauseating and a very cheap
blackmail, for Ms. Nunieh to suggest or insinuate that he sexually harassed
her, while she was the Acting Managing Director of the NDDC.
The Honourable Minister also finds it appalling
that, Ms. Nunieh, never deemed it fit to report the alleged incident to the police
at the earliest opportunity she had, before, during or after her tenure as the
Acting Managing Director on 17th February, 2020, if indeed the allegation was
true. Waiting till July 10th and 13th 2020 when the National Assembly appears
to be probing some of her actions as the Acting Managing Director of the
Interim Management Committee (“IMC”) exposes her motive, especially at a time
when the momentum for the Forensic Audit
Investigation of the NDDC is heating up and the
truth is about to be unveiled for all to see? The critical question is who is
afraid of the Forensic Audit at the NDDC? Who is Afraid of the Truth?
There is no doubt that Ms. Nunieh’s attacks are both
personal and sponsored. Those afraid of the truth, and who wish to bury it from
seeing the light of the day, are strenuously behind Ms. Nunieh’s vicious
campaign of calumny.
The Honourable Minister has a mandate from Mr.
President, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR to unearth alleged looting and
financial misappropriation that had gone on at the NDDC since its inception in
2001. He is committed to that mandate through the forensic audit of the NDDC
and will not be deterred or distracted from that goal. The aim of this campaign
of calumny is simple, get Senator Akpabio out, kill the forensic audit, and
continue business as usual at the NDDC.
On the allegations of the Honourable Minister’s
involvement in contract racketeering, bombing of oil pipelines,
corruption/diversion of funds, the Honourable Minister has stated several times
and at various fora that since his assumption of office, he has only awarded
three contracts till date- the appointment of the lead forensic auditors which
was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC); the emergency procurement
contract for COVID-19 intervention in the Niger Delta Area which due to its
urgency had his interim approval and Presidential approval in line with the
Bureau of Public Procurement Act and the award of Vehicles procurement duly
approved by the Bureau of Public Procurement and the Federal Executive Council
but yet to be consummated. It is noteworthy, that all these contracts went
through due processes.
On her allegation that the Honourable Minister
directed her to change the Dollars in the NDDC’s Account; for the records, it
should be noted that NDDC’s Account is domiciled with the Central Bank of
Nigeria. Every inflow and outflow is known and traceable. NDDC gets its revenue
in Dollars which is paid directly to its Treasury Single Account (TSA) with the
Central Bank of Nigeria. The Dollar is then converted to Naira by the CBN and
paid into the NDDC Naira Account still domiciled with the CBN upon a written
application from the NDDC. It is therefore impossible for any sum of money
belonging to the NDDC with the CBN including the several figures bandied around
as missing to be missing.
It is important to state, that unlike in the past
where the NDDC had over three hundred (300) bank accounts in different
commercial banks, that practice had since changed under the President Muhammadu
Buhari’s administration, which gave full effect to the application of the
Treasury Single Account and the NDDC now has its accounts with the CBN. The
Honourable Minister does not give verbal instructions to anybody, all
instructions are in writing and in response to a request from the Commission.
On the allegation that the Honourable Minister
directed Ms. Nunieh to remove Mr. Kaltungo, same is false. His track record
marks him out as a totally detribalized politician and one of the best friends
of Northern Nigeria. The Honourable Minister was informed by the NDDC management
that over twenty three (23) top Management Staff, from various part of Nigeria
including the Niger Delta region, who have evaded leave in the last ten (10)
years or had the tendency to influence negatively the ongoing forensic audit
were recommended for mandatory leave by the lead forensic auditors. They are
still staff of the Commission currently receiving their monthly salaries and
benefits.
The Honourable Minister has taken steps to instruct
his lawyers to seek necessary redress in a Court of competent Jurisdiction on
his behalf over the defamatory statements made by Ms. Nunieh.
On a final note, while encouraging all Nigerians to
hold their leaders to account, he urges them to take their time to sift between
the chaff and the substance before embarking on far reaching allegations,
opinions and views.
Signed
Anietie Ekong
SA Media
