The Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, Tuesday asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to scrap the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
Kalu told reporters at the National Assembly that the ministry was no longer viable.
He asked that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), under the ministry’s supervision, be returned to the Presidency.
Kalu said interventionist agencies like the NDDC and the North East Development Commission could function without reporting to their various ministries.
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He said, “Some of the ministries and parastatals are no longer viable, like the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
“We have the Niger Delta Development Commission and the North East Development Commission and they are doing their job.
“So, the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs should be scrapped and NDDC should be repositioned to report directly to the Presidency, which is what is in the Act.
“There’s nowhere in the Act that says NDDC should report to the Niger Delta ministry. The Commission should be allowed to function purely as a commission.”
Kalu also urged Nigerians to support President Tinubu’s administration, saying: “The days of stealing public fund were gone. We are ready to return the country to the Nigerian people. Those coming into government with the intention of stealing money, those days are gone.
“Tinubu is not looking for food to eat, neither those of us in the position of power. Our focus should be what the Nigerian people will get out of us.”
