•‘They loaded programme with Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa’

By Chancel Bomadi Sunday

Prince Collins Eselemo, the scion of the Eselemo Dynasty, grand patron of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide and House of Representatives candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) for Patani/Bomadi Constituency, Delta State, in this interview, speaks on the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, and the 2023 general elections. Excerpts:

How much do you know about the Presidential Amnesty Programme?

The Amnesty Programme was granted in my presence. And I was also availed the opportunity to contribute to make it happen. The few people that came to see me, as far as I remember, are Dr (Mrs) Agari, who was a member of the pioneer Amnesty Committee and Maj. Gen. Abbey who came to my house to seek my opinion among others.

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I told them that it would not solve the entire problem of the region, it would not meet up the collective aspirations of the Niger Delta people and that it could only bring about relative peace in the region which we are enjoying right now. But to solve the problems of resource control, oil spillage and environmental degradation among others was far from it.

But Henry Okah that is in prison now was against it but I was able to convince him. He gave his opinion for standing against it but later gave his blessing after much persuasion.

There are other contributing factors to the granting of the programme, many others contributed their resources to its actualization. When I say resources, it’s not in terms of cash or kind, its intellectual resources I’m referring.

Now, what’s your take on the programme in terms of performance?

During the first anniversary of the programme, I was also invited to give my opinion and I think it was because they recognized the part I played earlier. After then, I wanted to be part of the programme to succeed but I saw that there was this build-up of monumental fraud as a result of misappropriation and maladministration in that office.

I wish to say that the only administrator of the programme which distinguished himself and made sure the distribution of the resources of the programme was more inclusive is Chief Timi Alaibe, the superman. He made the programme resourceful and his performance went deep into the hearts of ex-agitators and Niger Deltans in general.

After Alaibe, the whole thing went down the drain. Everybody came in and disappointed the region.There seems to be fire on the mountain in the running of the programme. Some ex-agitators recently accused the Interim Administrator, Maj. Gen. Barry Ndiomu (rtd), of conniving with the NSA, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd), to strike an out-of-court settlement with contractors to pay them N3.8 billion for contracts executed, with an alleged agreement to pay kickback to the duo.

They also called for Ndiomu’s removal and threatened insecurity in the creeks. What’s your view on this situation?

Let me start from the NSA. That man has an appealing disposition that is next to none. I really don’t know him from Adam, but he’s limited to the ethics of his profession before he retired. In consideration of his meritorious service, sense of duty and integrity, he was made the NSA to the President.

For somebody to be with President Muhammadu Buhari till date, it tells you who he is. So, reconciling his person as a man of integrity with the allegation against him, I want to say it is baseless in its entirety. This is a man who made efforts to bring out secret deals of some former military chiefs, a man who can take anybody on intellectual warfare and some ex-agitators are accusing a man of that caliber?

I don’t see anything deceitful in that man’s character. Let me come to Ndiomu, I know him from a distance. He is a man of character and I see the allegation as an insult. If you are an ex-agitator, there’s a template that would better your life and that’s why the programme was established. It has nothing to do with ex-agitators owning contracts, it has nothing to do with ex-agitators going into administration of the programme.

If they find anything incriminating, the EFCC and ICPC are there. What is the business of ex-agitators joining a suit initiated by a contractor against PAP? The accusation is beyond imagination. They’re accusing the NSA of sending Ndiomu to collect contract through court action so as to get some money. Those people who call themselves ex-agitators should not disappoint Ijaw nation and I condemn their action in its entirety.

They are also threatening to cause mayhem in the creeks if their demands are not met. Are they God? They’re living big in Abuja driving expensive cars and threatening to cause insecurity for those of us living in the creeks that are not benefitting from the programme.

What do you think is the way forward?

I confronted Rueben Abati during a programme aired on Arise Television when he said he and his principal, President Goodluck Jonathan, went round the globe to make beneficiaries of the programme go to school and all that. Then, I challenged him to publish the names of beneficiaries who went to the several universities in the world.

I challenged him to tell me where they had been integrated in the society after their training, where they are working and he could not say anything anymore. I’m speaking on behalf of people who were really earmarked for the programme but are languishing in the Niger Delta region. People like Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo and others who are not from the Niger Delta benefitted, according to revelations.

Paul Boroh did not adhere to my advice when he was Interim Administrator. I want to call on Ndiomu to, without any delay, publish the fraud in the running of the programme, I urge him to publish the names of beneficiaries because all that is currently ongoing is corruption fighting back. He should not hesitate to act as this is expedient, I don’t want what happened to Paul Boroh to befall him.

It’s crystal clear that the allegation leveled against Ndiomu so far appeals to the hearts of hypocrisy premised on falsehood and patronized by the cabal. If PAP is recommending an industrial court for them to settle out-of-court on contractual issues, and if ex-agitators have anything against it, then they should go to court.

Cabal? Who are in this cabal?

The cabal comprises of some leaders of ex-agitators and contractors. Some ex-agitators are part of the contract as they bring forward fictitious names as beneficiaries. Again, some politicians from the Niger Delta have their slots in the programme.

Ministers and National Assembly members have their slots and those slots cannot be there without ex-agitators’ signatories. Slots cannot go in without the approval of leaders of ex-agitators.

So, they are friends in crime. In a nutshell, the allegation is designed to weaken Ndiomu in order to make the status quo remain, and I urge him to go ahead and publish the fraud and names of beneficiaries from inception of the programme till date.

There is this speculation that Ndiomu is designed as an instrument to wind up the programme abruptly without fulfilling its mandate. How do you perceive this speculation?

This is also an avalanche of beautiful irrelevancy, we have passed that stage. When Boroh came in as Interim Administrator, they spread similar speculation; when Dokubo came in, they said he was designed to wind up the programme; same was applicable to Dikio and now Ndiomu.

I want say that they should leave that to the President of this country and Ndiomu. I don’t see the President winding up the programme now. I rather see the President being frustrated by the monumental fraud in the running of the programme, and the person to unravel this fraud is Ndiomu, and well-meaning Niger Deltans don’t want him to fail.

Now, President Buhari has sent nominees for the substantive Board of the NDDC to the National Assembly for screening upon resumption. How do you see this long-awaited development?

Well, the NDDC is a disappointment and failure. It’s a failure because I’m part of the discovery unit to know that it’s a failure. It has been the voice box of the Nigerian politics. Any government in power would want to use the NDDC to actualize their plan for elections and it remains so.

In constituting the Board, too many interests have frustrated it and these interests are members of the Federal Executive Council and people who feel they’re in custody of our legislative rights. It’s an open secret that the equivalent card value of the monumental fraud in NDDC is about N6 trillion as exposed by forensic auditors. Since after this exposition, no single person has gone to jail.

At the NDDC headquarters, you have the EFCC desk, the ICPC desk, the police desk and the SSS desk and some of these contracts went through these desks, yet, no one is taking responsibility. It’s an organized crime on who gets what and you get away after you’ve been settled. This tells you that the NDDC is a cash cow.

However, if previous Boards that gave birth to the N6 trillion fraud cannot take responsibility, then who is fooling who? Is it Chancel Bomadi Sunday of Kpakiama or Prince Collins Eselemo from Akugbene, or Chief Ayiri Emami from Itsekiri or Ogheneovo from Urhobo should take responsibility?

Subsequent Boards could not take responsibility because officers of the anti-graft agencies, members of the executive arm of government and National Assembly members are part of the monumental fraud. That’s why I said the Board doesn’t matter because it’s a misplaced priority and distraction, and if the President must bring in the Board, he must do so with a specific mandate, which must be, to publish the forensic audit report, recover looted funds and pay genuine contractors.

The 2023 general elections are at hand. As a candidate of the NNPP in Patani/Bomadi Constituency, how prepared are you?

I’m going to beat my opponents even before the general elections. It’s near impossibility if I don’t have my victory over my counterparts in the PDP and APC during the 180 days pre-election matters in court. I have worked earnestly to make sure a legislator refunded over N150 million to EFCC which he has done already; and that money belongs to Patani/Bomadi constituents.

How popular is your party in Patani/Bomadi Constituency, what are your campaign points?

The 2023 general elections are all about individual credence and not about party affiliation, it’s about personality. I’m Collins Eselemo and Collins Eselemo is more popular than NNPP in Patani/Bomadi Constituency. My campaigns are issue-based.

I have been working tirelessly on behalf of the people of Patani/Bomadi Constituency for the right thing to be done for the constituency, that is, the need for democracy dividends to be delivered to them. I want to use this medium to call on my constituents to call on the EFCC to release looted but refunded money in their custody to the people of Patani/Bomadi Federal Constituency.

More so, if Collins Eselemo can reject N300 million as settlement for the sake of the people of Patani/Bomadi Constituency, what do you think I cannot do for my constituents when I’m the custodian of their legislative rights?

Final words

I urge the people of Patani/Bomadi Constituency to be steadfast. Do you want to know Prince Collins Eselemo that has been working for you?

Then, I’m coming for the campaigns which will be issue-based, and be rest assured that moneybag politicians, election riggers and ballot snatchers are not at ease anymore because of the amended Electoral Act that has returned mandate to the electorate to choose their leaders.