Investigate N5.4bn NDDC PPE Contract, Group Tells EFCC
A group, the Niger Delta Rights Advocate, has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate over N5.4bn personal protection equipment and COVID-19 sensitisation contract awarded to a firm, Signora Concept Services Limited, by the Niger Delta Development Commission.
The group also sought for the probe of the circumstances leading to the award of the contract by the Interim Management of the Committee of the NDDC.
Spokesman for the NDRA, Darlington Nwauju, also said the commission would not be able to function efficiently if left under the control of the Niger Delta Ministry.
“We call on the EFCC to swiftly move in to investigate this latest allegation of over N5.4bn worth of unexecuted coronavirus PPE/community sensitisation contracts and expose the capacity and competence of the contractor (Signora Concept Services Ltd) as well as the actual value of such equipment.
“The EFCC should also determine if this particular contract passed through standard procurement benchmark. The NDRA wishes to demand the immediate investigation into the circumstances leading to the award/non-execution of a contract worth over N5bn by the Interim Management Committee led by Prof Pondei.
“Furthermore, we wish to query the intentions of those running the NDDC over their preference to purchase the PPEs for health workers in the region whereas we lack testing centres or laboratories that can actually help in the fight against this deadly virus,” Nwauju said in a statement issued on Sunday.
Reacting, the Director, Corporate Affairs of the NDDC, Mr Charles Odili, maintained that contrary to the IPDI’s claim, there was no fraud in the commission.
Odili said, “The document is simply fake or at best unauthorised. The letters for all contracts awarded by the commission are signed by the Executive Director, Projects, on the authority of the acting managing director who is the chief accounting officer of the commission.”
He insisted that none of the officials was aware of the contract letter even as he declared that the commission had launched an internal investigation into how the letter was issued.
