Echotitbits – Nigeria News

Tag: Niger Delta Development Commission

  • SERAP urges NASS to release 20yr probe reports, more trouble for NDDC

    SERAP urges NASS to release 20yr probe reports, more trouble for NDDC

    A legal and advocacy organisation, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has invoked the Freedom of Information (FoI) law to demand the publication of completed public hearings and corruption probes since 1999 from the National Assembly.

    In a statement issued by SERAP Sunday morning, the organisation asked the Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan and his counterpart at the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila “to tell Nigerians the number of probes that have resulted in indictment of suspects, name the suspects & send reports to anti-corruption agencies”.

    SERAP in its FoI request stated that: “We urge you to sponsor a resolution to stop lawmakers from directly getting involved in the execution of projects by MDAs to ensure the proper and effective exercise of oversight functions, in cases such as the NDDC and NSITF public hearings & probes.

    “We also urge you to use the opportunity of the ongoing corruption probes to influence Nigeria’s anti-corruption agenda, including by immediately amending section 52 of the ICPC Act, to expand & strengthen the powers of independent counsel to prosecute grand corruption cases”, SERAP said.

    Meanwhile, there seems to be more trouble for the Management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) at the House of Representatives on the strength of queries by the Auditor General of the Federation over certain expenditures at the interventionist agency.

    The ongoing probe of the activities of the commission by an ad-hoc committee of the House has already exposed many alleged shady deals at the commission, which has triggered the anger of many Nigerians calling for a decisive action to punish anyone found culpable in the alleged multi-billion Naira embezzlement.

    According to a report from the office of the Auditor General of the Federation (AuGF) to the House Committee on Public Accounts on the finances of the commission, more damning revelations was reported to be coming.

    The embattled leadership of the NDDC is opposed to call by the National Assembly that the commission be returned to the Presidency for supervision as was the case in the past.

    The AuGF’s report on NDDC covering the period 2008 to 2012 raised questions over extra budgetary expenditure, award of emergency contracts and paying for unexecuted contracts.

    While responding to the questions raised, the commission only stated that the resort to the award of emergency contracts was to ensure that peace prevailed in the regime, and that there was no way it could identify projects such as roads and other infrastructures which might need emergency attention.

    Some of the queries by the AuGF are:

    Payment of N199.5 million by the commission for the supply of school desks in Delta State.

    It said that there was no evidence that desks were supplied to schools in Ethiope West, Warri North, Isoko North, Sapele and Warri South local government areas of Delta despite payment to the contractors.

    The use of unbudgeted contracts, which the Commission explained that “as an interventionist agency it is mandated to intervene in critical areas.’

    The commission added that: “the project was awarded under a global budget emergency repairs, Corporate Social Responsibility and strategic access road… It is not feasible to determine roads, bridges or other infrastructure that may require our urgent attention.

    On alleged non-deduction of VAT from recently completed contracts for which mobilisation payments were made before 2008.

    The value of the contacts was put at N936.77 million.

    The Commission said “VAT is a tax burden to the commission and hence VAT due to contractors and consultants on projects, supplies and other services are calculated and paid to the relevant tax authority at the end of each month. It is not a deduction from contractor’s bill unless specified in the bill of quantity or suppliers invoice. It is an addition to project cost and hence, overpayment to contractors will not arise in any way because of VAT”.

    Again, the Auditor General observed what it called “unrecognized oil company’s contributions into final account N3.280 billion”, to which the Commission said “all contributions received from oil companies were paid directly into our Union Bank Account in Port Harcourt and the Off shore account in the United Kingdom and in recent years, a few were remitted into the First Bank account in Port Harcourt and the offshore account in the United Kingdom… the process of ascertaining the actual companies that made contributions into these banks could be difficult sometimes due to insufficient information which could, in few cases, lead to wrong posting.”

    However, while the audit query stated it identified tax deduction on payment vouchers without evidence of remittance of N10,027,330,926.17, the commission insisted that “we have remitted all taxes to the appropriate authority.

    Also of concern was multiple contract awards and payment of mobilisation detected, but the NDDC management said it was looking into this with a view to relocating one of the contractors to another site, but the mobilisation paid is safe since they are backed by bank guarantees.

    The AuGF accused the commission of making unauthorised transfer of funds to the personal account of some individuals as well as some undisclosed accounts, stating that the sum of N40 million was transferred by the commission to the personal account of a former director.

    Also the sum of N87, 331,331.11 was reported to have been transferred from Access Bank account of the Commission to an undisclosed account.

    In an attempt at explaining the alleged illegal transfer, the commission did not address the issue raised, it only stated that “the balance arose from the domiciliary account opened at the early stage of the commission to pay contractors and other payables”.

    Meanwhile, NDDC has kicked against the the National Assembly’s recommendations that prayed for the return of the commission to the supervision of the Presidency.

    NDDC’s Acting Executive Director, Projects, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, was reported to have said that the activities of some national lawmakers were constituting a stumbling block to the operations of the commission and should be critically examined for the country to move forward.

    By Tobiloba Kolawole

  • NDDC Probe: Akpabio implicates National Assembly members as Acting MD ‘slumps’

    NDDC Probe: Akpabio implicates National Assembly members as Acting MD ‘slumps’

    Most contracts from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) are awarded to members of the National Assembly, says the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Sen. Godswill Akpabio.

    The Minister made the revelation on Monday when he appeared before the House of Representatives committee on NDDC, who are probing trillions of Naira allocated to the commission for the development of the oil rich region over the years.

    Akpabio’s comment, which apparently opened another cankerworm in the ongoing probe, erupted as he was being grilled about NDDC expenditure amid a forensic audit during the public hearing by members of the House of Representatives committee on NDDC.

    The Minister had been invited by the lawmakers on Friday to defend his actions as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and shed more light on financial misappropriation within the NDDC.

    “We cannot close down the Niger Delta Development Commission because of the fact that we are doing (a) forensic audit,” he said.

    “The NDDC plays a vital role in ensuring the peace and security of the region and 90 percent or more of the resources of the country come from there.

    “If you close it down in totality all you will have is chaos. You will have a lot of, not just militancy; you will have a lot of insurrection.

    “So it is important that people who have gone to court, people who genuinely did jobs should be paid for their jobs. For me, I am not against it because, of course, who are even the greatest beneficiaries? It is you people.”

    A member of the committee took him up on his “you people” allegation and asked him to clarify.

    “I just told you that we have records to show that most of the contracts in the NDDC are given out to members of the National Assembly,” the ex-Senator said.

    Meanwhile, the Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Daniel Pondei, who also appeared before the House of Representatives committee seems to faint during the grilling session on Monday.

    The committee is in its fourth day of public hearing as it investigates alleged financial misappropriation at the agency.

    The controversy had seen strong allegations of corruption traded between the Minister and the former MD of the NDDC, Joi Nunei, who appeared before the lawmakers via Zoom on Friday.

    Pondei had been grilled for over an hour when he slowly slumped over his desk, appearing to faint.

    Several people present at the hearing rushed to his aid, propping him up and attempting to stabilise him, with the proceedings halted.

    He then appeared to be in a seizure with a man holding open his mouth as others held him upright.

    After he appeared to regain and lose composure intermittently, he was moved out of the session.

    The development led to a brief discussion about the next step to take. A move to have the session adjourned was shouted before the Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Thomas Ereyi-Tobi, called for a 30-minute recess.

    Lawmakers investigating corruption allegations in the NDDC had on Friday summoned Pondei and the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to appear before them today (Monday) as the country sought to understand how budgetary allocations to the agency had been spent.

    This is not the first time an appearance by the NDDC MD before the lawmakers will come to a halt under dramatic circumstances.

    The NDDC boss had walked out on the lawmakers on Thursday, last week, after accusing the Chairman of the Committee, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, of being an interested party in the investigation.

    He said as long as Tunji-Ojo presided over the investigation, the Commission would not get a fair hearing. He then refused to make presentations before the committee and walked out.

    Angered by the move, the lawmakers resolved to issue a warrant of arrest compelling Professor Pondei to appear before the lawmakers and make a proper submission.

    The lawmakers, however, decided to summon him again, and at the start of his appearance, he apologised for his action.

    Although he said he “regretted” the incident which happened last week, before he was questioned by the lawmakers, the Chairman of the Committee recused himself from the session, leaving Hon. Thomas Ereyi-Tobi, the Deputy Chairman of the Committee to preside.

     

  • NDDC: Women group demands fair treatment of Ex-MD in N22.6b probe

    NDDC: Women group demands fair treatment of Ex-MD in N22.6b probe

    The National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) has urged the Federal Government to protect Ms. Joi Nunieh from all forms of physical and emotional harassment while she faces probe.

    The group through its National president, Laraba Shoda, in a statement on Saturday demanded that Nunieh should be allowed to face the Senate Committee handling the probe to defend herself without intimidation.

    She stated that: ”All forms of harassment and intimidations should stop. We are not against her being probed but what we don’t want is for her to be harassed in any way.”

    The NCWS president however commended River State Governor, Nyesom Wike for rescuing Nunieh and freeing her from the supposed “house arrest” by policemen.

    Nunieh is a former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), being investigated for alleged financial recklessness of N22.6 billion said to have been perpetrated under her stewardship.

  • NDDC: Buhari speaks on unfolding drama, orders coordinated investigation

    NDDC: Buhari speaks on unfolding drama, orders coordinated investigation

    Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday broke silence over the ongoing unfolding drama over the probe of the budgetary allocations to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    Speaking for the first time on the attacks and counter attacks between and around persons, institutions, and the commission, Buhari expressed his strong determination to get to the root of the problem undermining the development of the Niger Delta and its peoples in spite of enormous national resources voted year after year for this singular purpose.

    The President directed that there should be better coordination among security and investigating agencies with the National Assembly to ensure that his administration’s effort to bring sanity, transparency and accountability to the management of the large amount of resources dedicated to development of the Niger Delta sub-region is not derailed.

    According to him, auditing firms and investigative agencies working in collaboration with National Assembly Committees to resolve the challenges in NDDC must initiate actions in a time-bound manner and duly inform the Presidency of the actions being taken.

    The President also directed timely sharing of information and knowledge in a way to speedily assist the administration to diagnose what had gone wrong in the past and what needs to be done to make corrections in order to return NDDC to its original mandate of making life better for people in Niger Delta.

    Buhari, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the administration wanted to bring about “rapid, even and sustainable development to the region.”

    The President gave firm assurance that his administration would put in place a transparent and accountable governance framework, not only in NDDC but in all other institutions of government.

    Idowu Sowunmi