A group of Niger Delta leaders under the auspices of the Niger Delta Youth Coalition for Peace and Progress has assured President Bola Tinubu that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, will never betray him.
The NDYCPP in a statement after their meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital on Sunday, March 31, 2024, told Tinubu to ignore the detractors hauling abuses on Wike, noting that the Minister would never betray him.
The Niger Delta leaders in the statement signed on their behalf by their national president, Pastor Teidor Olayinka, Mr George Mogbitse and Owunano Harry, further assured the President that would remain his dependable ally.
According to the leaders, Wike had remained focused on delivering his job as a minister “despite mischievous political catcalls and wild denigrating tantrums thrown to him by his detractors”.
They maintained that: “Wike is a very detribalised person; he is someone, who goes for competence and just like Mr. President, he always meticulously engages people, who can deliver on given assignments, no matter where they are from.
“Wike’s avid commitment to spreading the dividends of the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President can be attested to, even by his die-hard critics.
“The speed with which he is carrying out projects and programmes in the FCT that are touching the lives of the people positively is clear, even for the blind to see. He is a proven political ally of Mr. President and a shining light in his cabinet.
“He is bringing out components of the Abuja master plan that were hitherto unknown to the public and as well implementing them accordingly. He is very courageous and astute in building political bridges across party lines effectively. He is a known voice in our national democratic discourse.
“He has helped to influence the appointment and employment of a lot of qualified Niger Delta sons and daughters into very sensitive positions of responsibility; irrespective of tribe, creed and political cleavages.
“We commend Wike for how he is relating with the leadership of the National Assembly and other top key government functionaries at the National level. We want to caution all those bad-belly people, who are antagonistic to Wike’s emergence as the Minister of the FCT, especially our brothers from the North, to shelve their needless attacks but rather support him to succeed in building a beautiful FCT”.
The leaders however called on all stakeholders, particularly those from the South South to support Wike to enable him to continue to work for the success of Mr. President’s Renewed Hope agenda.
They said: “As for us, the Niger Delta Youth Coalition for Peace and Progress and respected stakeholders from the Niger Delta region, we commend the Minister of FCT, Chief Nyesom Wike, for promoting regional unity.
“We appreciate your good work especially the way you’re transforming the FCT, and as an ambassador from the region, who is making us proud, we will continue to support your course”.
Why commending Tinubu for spreading development to every part of the country especially the Niger Delta, through such interventionist agencies like the Niger Delta Development Commission, the leaders appealed to the President to address some bureaucratic bottlenecks affecting the NDDC.
They said: “We have observed with concern some obvious bureaucratic bottlenecks in the wheel of progress at the NDDC, such as the Treasury Single Account policy which is adversely affecting the commission’s activities, especially hindering the delivery of projects and programmes at record timelines.
“We implore Mr. President to take a second look at the policy as it relates to the NDDC and make necessary adjustments that will free up funds for massive developmental targets”.
