Human rights activist and former Presidential Candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has criticized the recent celebration marking 25 years of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
In a strongly worded statement posted to his official Facebook page on Monday evening, Sowore described the event as a “shameful celebration of failure.”
Sowore particularly took aim at Ondo State Governor, Hon. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, who was seen participating in a church thanksgiving to commemorate the what they tagged “Milestone”. Sowore questioned the rationale behind such a celebration, asking why public officials would jubilate over what he termed decades of fraud and betrayal.
“I noticed that the Ondo State governor, Hon. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, was in a celebratory mood in church yesterday, purportedly marking 25 years of NDDC. I wonder why these people are so shameless,” Sowore wrote.
He accused Niger Delta politicians of enriching themselves with funds meant for the development of the region, stating that numerous contracts were paid for but never executed, while looters continue to roam freely in religious institutions and public life.
“Instead of cake-cutting and thanksgiving, we should be handing out 25-year prison sentences to those behind the fraud called NDDC,” Sowore said.
He went on to describe the NDDC’s legacy as nothing short of tragic, listing a litany of failures:
25 years of stolen billions
25 years of abandoned projects
25 years of criminal neglect
25 years of institutional deception
“This is not an anniversary. It’s a memorial to betrayal,” he concluded.
