By Peregba Jerry
Ahead of the November 11 governorship election in Bayelsa State, a socio-political group, the Bayelsa Renaissance Movement (BRM), has told the heads of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) to be apolitical and remain neutral throughout the electioneering period.
BRM said by openly supporting a political party, the NDDC Managing Director, Samuel Ogbuku, and the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) Interim Administrator, Barry Ndiomu, will be using their offices to advance personal interests, urging them to remain apolitical.
In a statement issued on Wednesday in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, the National Coordinator of BRM, Jackson Oroyi, wondered why government agencies saddled with the responsibility of advancing development in the marginalised region will abandon the pressing needs of the people and engage in politics.
According to Oroyi, such practices have the tendency of derailing the agency heads from paying due attention to the mandates of their offices, urging that caution be taken in order not to slaughter the interests of the collective Niger Deltans on the slab of selfish interest.
He said, “We are aware of ongoing plans to use the funds of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) to fund the campaign of the sacked governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa, Chief Timipre Sylva.
“Government agencies like the NDDC, which has the responsibility of taking the region from the quagmire of protracted underdevelopment, and the PAP, which should concentrate on managing the amnesty programme instituted by former President Umar Musa Yar’Adua for ex-agitators, ought not to be openly seen romancing with any political party.
“The two heads of agencies have been actively working for the sacked candidate of the APC in Bayelsa and have equally pledged funds from their respective agencies to support Chief Timipre Sylva”, he stated.
The BRM therefore urged Ogbuku and Ndiomu to resign from their offices to enable them to devote their time and personal resources to the campaign for Sylva.
It also urged President Bola Tinubu to call them to order, noting that sensitive positions such as NDDC and PAP heads should be purged of political biases and interests.
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