I slapped Akpabio for sexually harassing me, says ex-NDDC MD, Nunie

By our reporter| Former acting managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Joy Nunie on Monday claimed she slapped Godswill Akpabio, minister of Niger Delta affairs, for sexually harassing her.

Nunie who made the claim during an interview on Arise TV, said the incident happened at the minister’s guest house in Abuja, also alleged that the former governor of Akwa Ibom state engineered her removal for failing to follow his illegal orders.

She said, “Why did he not tell Nigerians that I slapped him in his guest house at Apo? I am the only woman that slapped Akpabio. He thought he could come up on me. He tried to harass me sexually.”

“I slapped him. He tried to come on me. I am an Ogoni woman and nobody jokes with us. I showed Akpabio that Rivers women do not tolerate nonsense.”

The former NDDC MD who has been having a runing media battle with the Niger Delta minister equally accused him of trying to inflate the NDDC budget by asking her to include some projects from the refugee commission in the budget of the NDDC.

She continued, “Akpabio wrote me to put a list of projects from the refugee commission in the budget of NDDC. Refugee commission is another federal government commission for IDPs.”

“How do you tell me to put some of their projects in the NDDC budget when we have so many things to do in the Niger Delta? How do you explain that?”

“When we first came to the NDDC, on the day of going for the inauguration, he told me in the car that Madam MD, If you don’t do what I say, the same pen which I use to sign your letter, it will be the same pen I will use to remove you,” she had said.

Nunieh and Akpabio last week appeared the senate ad hoc panel investigating the alleged mismanagement of N40 billion by the interim management committee (IMC) of the NDDC.

The former NDDC MD levelled most of the allegations she repeated on Arise TV on Monday while appearing before the committee but Akpabio told the panel that he knew nothing about the expenditure of the NDDC under Nunieh because she never briefed him on her activities.