Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila
Speaker of the House of Representatives
National Assembly Complex,
Three Arms Zone,
Abuja
Rt. Hon. Speaker Sir,
OPEN LETTER TO THE SPEAKER HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: PASS ‘VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE’ ON SENATOR GODSWILL AKPABIO NOW
Let me, first of all, congratulate Mr. Bunmi Tunji-Ojo for being an Honourable, because it’s “Nemo judex in causa sua” (no person can judge a case in which the has an interest). I will also like to thank all other members of the Committee for a job well done.
The funds meant for the development of the region and which are to be further utilized for the payment of scholarship of their students abroad are being shared by a couple of people.
Distinguished Senators and Members of House of Representatives, I have patiently watched the dramatization by the acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Professor Kemebradikumo Pondei who collapsed at the NASS building during the fact-finding hearing by the committee.
As a concerned citizen of this nation, I shed tears when watching the testimonies, specifically when Senator Godswill Akpabio said 60% of their budget was spent on COVID-19.
Distinguished Senators and Members of House of Representatives, let me remind you that many of your colleagues that started the journey of this political dispensation together with you have either died or have one ailment or the other. You are not in any way better than them but it’s simply by the grace of God that you are still alive. Not begging you to fear God, however, what I’m telling you is the whole world is watching you.
How can Mr Akpabio say even before COVID-19, 60% of its 2020 budget was for medical expenses, when state governors in collaboration with the Federal Government allocated billions of naira for the project COVID-19?
Rt. Hon. Speaker Sir, Distinguished Senators and Members of House of Representatives in a country where an average citizen cannot afford a daily meal during lockdown, very few individuals allocated over N1 Billion to themselves. This is indeed callous.
- A senior staff of NDDC received N10 million as “palliative;”
- Two staff received N7 million each;
- Three staff received N5 million each;
- 148 staff received N3 million each;
- 157 staff received N1.5 million each;
- 497 staff received N1millon each;
- 464 least staff mostly cleaners and security personnel for NDDC received N600,000 each.
- The Commission also gave N475 million out of this amount to “police for facemasks and hand sanitizers.”
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio has demonstrated to Nigerians that he’s the number one incompetent Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and a big disgrace to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Akpabio, who was appointed to oversee the ministry during the public hearing, said he was not aware such a humongous multi-billion naira contracts were awarded to contractors.
However, the Minister during his testimony indicated that 60% of the contracts of NDDC were awarded to members of the National Assembly.
It is on record that Senator Akpabio is one of the few politicians who have testified at the National Assembly that didn’t sign the oath.
To be realistic with you Rt. Hon. Speaker Sir, Senator Akpabio is a big disgrace to this country and the honourable thing for him to do is to resign his position. If he fails to do that, I enjoin you to urgently pass ‘VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE’ on him now.
Yours faithfully
Signed:
Jumu’ah Abiodun
[email protected]
[email protected]
CC: The Senate President
CC: Deputy Senate President
CC: The Senate Leader
CC: Minority Leader
CC: Minority Whip
CC: All Distinguished Senators
CC: Deputy Speaker
CC: Members of the House of Representatives
CC: Clerk of the National Assembly
