Orubebe must go! Orubebe must go!” This was the slogan of two groups from the Niger Delta region that met recently in Patani, a Delta State local government area bordering Bayelsa State.
The Niger Delta Peacekeeping Volunteer Force (NDPVF) and the Niger Delta Believers Group (NDBG) were unanimous in their agitation for the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Godsday Orubebe to vacate his office.
The National President, NDPVF, Chief Lokiri Lawrence, and his counterpart in the NDBV, Mr. Engema Lambo, blamed lack of development in the region on what they described as Orubebe’s incompetence.
According to them development will only come to the region if President Goodluck Jonathan musters courage, sacks Orubebe and replaces him with a selfless, passionate and capable person from the region.
Lawrence said: “The President has appointed Niger Delta people to mount sensitive offices to see how they can bring in development in the Niger Delta. This tasks falls on the Ministry of the Niger Delta which was handed over to Orubebe.
“This ministry was created out of the struggle of the Ijaw people to ameliorate the suffering of the Niger Delta people. But this man has failed woefully with regards to performance.
“He is incompetent and we call on Mr. President to sack Orubebe without any delay. Sacking him will promote the agenda of transparency and corruption-free governance. He does not mean well for the Niger Delta and should be sacked”.
He further lamented the deplorable state of the roads in the region especially the East-West Road. He said the most important road that traverses the region has remained in bad shape despite huge amount of money so far spent for its dualisation.
He regretted that the road had become a death trap for travelers and recalled series of accidents that claimed lives of innocent Nigerians on it. According to him the mother of Patience, the wife of President Jonathan died from an accident that occurred in a failed section of the road.
Lawrence alleged that the East-West road had become a drain pipe on resources earmarked by the government for the development of the region.
“Every day people are dying on the road. In fact, Mr. President’s in-law got an accident on the same road and died. All these lives have been lost because of the negligence and non-performance of this minister”, he said.
He also kicked against the speculated governorship ambition of Orubebe in Delta State and said he lacked the qualities required to govern the state. He said any attempt to allow the minister govern Delta State would be to the detriment of the region’s development.
“We are making strong appeal to the President not to support any ambition of Orubebe to rule Delta State.
“Instead, we are calling on the President who is a product of zoning to support a credible person from Anioma, Delta North, which has never ruled the state from its creation to produce the next governor”, he said.
Jombo further listed the alleged sins of Orubebe to include his inability to articulate the development of the region. He said the canalisation of some communities in the region, a project awarded by the ministry, was marred by fraud.
He said: “There was nothing like canalisation. Within a short period, billions of Naira was siphoned in the name of canalisation. But we have a road less than 2km from Bomadi to Torogbene lying fallow for many years. If you can do canalisation quickly why don’t you approach the construction of that road with the same effort?
“Orubebe cannot make any difference in Delta State. If the Presidency doesn’t want the development of Niger Delta, it should bring Orubebe as the governor of Delta.
“He will be a failure. We are appealing to the a President to remove Orubebe because he has not done well. The problem of the East-West road is not of funding. It is a deliberate attempt to divert money and stockpile it for an election.”
He called on the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to commence an investigation into the activities of the minister.
“We are not happy with the state of our roads. There is no improvement at all in the roads that lead to communities in the Niger Delta region, the Hausa people became presidents and opened up their roads.
“Every other projects in the region are suffering. Where are the coastal roads? President should protect his name by sacking Orubebe otherwise people will blame the underdevelopment in the region on him.”
But Orubebe reiterated government’s determination to complete the East/West road next year. He said N140 billion was needed to fight the infrastructure battle in the region adding that the East-West road had reached 65 per cent completion.
He decried the misconception of his ministry’s performance by the public, despite concerted efforts by his team to live up to expectation. Orubebe said N209 billion had been spent on the road project, adding that N140 billion was required to complete the project.
He said: “People have misconceptions about the slow pace of service delivery by the ministry. We have moved from 10 per cent to 65 per cent in terms of completion. Before, there were no drawings and designs. Within a year, we had drawings and designs.”
He said besides fostering peace in the oil-rich zone, the ministry has empowered the ex-militants, who have acquired skills through vocational trainings to become self-reliant.
The minister dismissed insinuations that his attention may have been diverted from his ministerial job by his speculated governorship ambition in Delta State.
He said: “I am a politician. But I have not gathered people to say that I want to be governor. May be, because I have been a minister for five years this is why there is speculation.
“If I will run for the governorship, I will call you to tell you. My attention is not diverted. I am focused. I work with my team. If you don’t see me in Abuja, you will see me on the East/West road or in any of the Southsouth states.”
