PANDEF fumes over NNPC’s 21 road projects

THE Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), on Friday, described as lopsided the distribution of the 21 federal roads the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has volunteered to reconstruct in favour of the North, saying the development is unfair, unjust and wicked. 

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had on Wednesday announced the approval of NNPC’s request to fix 21 federal roads at N621 billion with the South getting a total of 228.22 kilometres while the North got a total 2,037.05 kilometres. 

Reacting to the distribution of the roads in which the South-South got the lowest of 52.2 kilometres, PANDEF’s National Publicity Secretary, Ken Robinson, in an interview with Saturday Tribune, said the development was an established pattern of the Muhammadu Buhari presidency since inception. 

“It is not only unfair and unjust but wicked. This further demonstrates the astonishing level of discriminative bias the Buhari administration bears against the Niger Delta region in projects and programmes distribution and implementation, as well as in appointments and conduct of the government generally. 

“There is no responsible government anywhere in the world that would come up with that sort of pesky, lopsided distribution as done by the government in the 21 road projects approved by the Federal Executive Council for NNPC to fix. 

“From available information, in terms of kilometres (length of the roads), the South-South has the least with only 52.2 kilometres. 

“The North Central has 1,479.9 kilometres; North West has 283.5; North East has 273.35; South-East has 122 kilometres and South West has 119 kilometres,” he noted. 

The South-South apex socio-cultural organisation wondered what criteria and reasons could be adduced for the lopsided distribution. 

“What is or are the reasons for such an absurd distribution? What was the yardstick? 

“Unfortunately, this is an established pattern under the Buhari presidency,” the PANDEF’s spokesman averred. 

He recalled that “when the $311 million Abacha loot was returned from the United States in 2020, the South-South was excluded in projects designated for the fund, which included the second Niger Bridge, Lagos-Ibadan and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano expressways, as well as the Mambilla Power Project in NorthEast zone; no project in the South-South zone was listed. 

That scenario was repeated in the Ibori loot. 

“This kind of situation further bolsters the Niger Delta people’s demand for not only adequate participation in the management, administration and dispensation of the resources nature has richly endowed our lands, but also for the restructuring of the country. 

“Will this gross injustice against the people who bear the brunt of the oil exploration and exploitation activities in their land be allowed to continue? 

“Will the Niger Delta people continue to condone this unfairness against them by the Nigerian state? Time will tell!”

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