Divine Udoma 08 May 2014, Sweetcrude, Port Harcourt – The Niger Delta Youth Forum (NDYF) has given gas processing companies operating in the Niger Delta a two-week ultimatum to remit all money owed to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) since year 2000.
The NDYF in a statement signed by its national coordinator, Mr. Edisemi Yiki and Secretary, Mr. Malachy Chukwuka called on the companies to omply with the provisions of Section 14B of the NDDC Act and pay any money owed to the commission or face penalty.
“We are calling on all Gas processing companies to comply with the provisions of the NDDC Act and pay whatever money owed NDDC since 2000 till date within two weeks. Failure to comply with our demand, we will not hesitate to explore every legitimate means to see that the money is released,” the statement read.
It further said the group had discovered that the gas processing companies had failed to comply with the provision of the NDDC Act and “as such had committed economic crimes against the people of the region who are the ultimate beneficiaries of the NDDC”.
“The NDDC does not exist all be itself. It exists because of the people; so whatever touches the NDDC and its funding affects the people of the region, it said, lamenting that failure of the companies to comply would endanger the commission and its developmental efforts in the Niger Delta.
“Take note that if nothing is done urgently to the funding of the NDDC, we are afraid that the next 5 years the NDDC will go bankrupt and might go extinct,” the group stated.