Fed Govt Recovers N3.7bn From NDDC Contractors
Anti-graft agencies had recovered N3.7bn from Niger Delta Development Commission contractors, President Muhammadu Buhari, said on Tuesday.
Buhari noted that the recovery was an example of how the commission had suffered abuses over the years, a reason its operations must come under thorough scrutiny henceforth.
He also disclosed that assets worth N6bn were under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and other agencies.
The President spoke in Abuja when he inaugurated the NDDC Advisory Committee at the State House.
The committee, which comprises the governors of the nine oil producing states, has the duty of advising the board of the NDDC in line with its mandate.
The Minister of Niger Delta, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and the Minister of Environment, Mr Mohammed Mahmoud, are also members of the committee.
The governors who attended the inauguration were those of Delta (Ifeanyi Okowa); Bayelsa (Diri Douye); Rivers (Nyesom Wike); Cross River (Ben Ayade); Ondo (Rotimi Akeredolu); Edo (Godwin Obasaki); Deputy Governor of Abia State, Mr Ude Chukwu; and that of Imo, Prof Placid Njoku.
The advisory committee functioned last during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who left office in 2007.
It had been dormant up till Tuesday when Buhari inaugurated it again.
Speaking on the recoveries, the President said, “To date, the EFCC and other agencies of government have recovered over N3.7bn in cash as well as various assets worth billions of naira from some contractors and former directors of the commission.
“Furthermore, I am told that government agencies have placed a lien on over N6bn of assets which are being investigated.”
Buhari asked the committee to carry out the assignment diligently and effectively by working closely with the relevant ministries to bring positive changes to the NDDC and the areas it serviced.
The President further stated that in 2016, his regime launched the “New Vision for the Niger Delta” to promote sustainable peace, security, infrastructure and human capital development in the region.
To achieve this aim, Buhari said the Ministry of Niger Delta, the NDDC and the Presidential Amnesty Programme must work together to bring succour to the people of the region.
He recalled that over time, mismanagement had affected the delivery of projects in the region.
Buhari added, ‘‘As a result, the people of the Niger Delta were left with abandoned infrastructural projects and substandard social programmes which were designed to improve their living conditions.
‘‘It is to reverse this trend that I approved, in February 2020, the constitution of a 10-man Presidential Monitoring Committee as provided for in Section 21 of the NDDC Establishment Act.’’
He explained that the PMC, which would be chaired by the Minister of Niger Delta, would focus on monitoring the operations and activities of the commission and report to his office.
On why he inaugurated the advisory committee before re-constituting the board of the NDDC, the President said, ‘‘This is to enable us to develop insights into the affairs of the commission which will properly guide the board when reconstituted once the forensic audit on the commission is concluded.
‘‘You may recall that the Federal Executive Council, on the 5th of February, 2020 approved the appointment of the Lead Forensic Auditors. I am told they are concluding their pre-engagement activities and should be ready to commence work soon.”
A State House statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, said Okowa, who responded on behalf of his colleagues, lauded Buhari for yielding to a request to conduct a forensic audit on the books of the NDDC.
Okowa said, ‘‘We do not want to criticise what has happened in the NDDC for quite some time, but the fact is that the cooperation between the states and the NDDC has not been strengthened overtime and we have various cases of duplication of projects that are not properly planned.
‘‘But I believe that with the inauguration of this body, we will be able to sit down, meet and work in collaboration to bring greater developments to our people.”
Meanwhile, speaking with State House Correspondents after the inauguration, Akpabio said a lien was placed on property worth over N76bn, while seven houses had been recovered.
