Chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta, Senator Peter Nwaboshi
has accused Minister of Niger Delta, Senator Godswill Akpabio, of
looting the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, through contracts.
Nwaboshi who accused Akpabio of using proxies to lie and blackmail him
said documents available to him clearly show that the Minister received
N500million contracts from the NDDC in 2017 when he served as Minority
Leader of the Senate.
In a statement signed his Media Aide Luka Igbinoba, Nwaboshi challenged
Akpabio to produce any documentary evidence linking him to any contract
awards in NDDC.
The statement reads:
“The charade in the past weeks by the Interim Management Committee of
the Niger Delta Development Commission to blackmail a routine task of
the National Assembly to perform its oversight function as stated in the
constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has no doubt become a
national embarrassment. More so is the uncharitable and condemnable low
of smear campaigns against members of the institution, churning out
blatant lies that are easily verifiable. The latest, been a press
release signed by a supposed civil servant, on allegations that are
completely false and unfounded.
“They listed 11 companies and ascribed ownership to Distinguished
Senator Peter Nwaboshi. These are companies that he does not know nor
had anything to do with. A simple search at Corporate Affairs Commission
will, at least, show both former and present directors. How do you
libelously claim a man owns companies that perhaps belong to other
people? Apparently, the officials might have generated names of
companies they have probably used to siphon the peoples common
patrimony, everyone involved must face the wrath of the law as It is
expected that due diligence should precede any contract award. In any
case, if the contracts were actually awarded in 2016 as alleged, the
forensic audit which covers the period is expected to expose every
detail surrounding these contracts and save the public from this
shameless falsehood.
“We strongly challenge NNDC to avail the public of the names of
directors and shareholders of all the companies.
For the umpteenth time, Senator Nwaoboshi once again declares that he is
neither a director nor shareholder in any of the companies listed by
NDDC.
“Nigerians are aware that the misleading press release is just another
desperate attempt to rescue the already shredded and tattered image of
Godswill Akpabio. Senator Nwaboshi, once again, stands on and reaffirms
all he said in his last press conference as it concerns the Minister. He
made it very clear and evidentially backed it up by presenting a memo
written to him by Akpabio in 2017, requesting the inclusion of projects
in the 2017 NDDC budget amounting to the tune of 500 million Naira. The
fact of this request is incontrovertibly true as contained in the said
memo which is in the public domain. No amount of brazen denial can
subvert the documented evidence. The commission keeps indicting itself
in the desperate attempt to exonerate Akpabio.
“The claim that some school desks and chairs purportedly produced for
NDDC were diverted and supplied to Delta state government by him is a
white lie from the pit of hell. Since becoming a senator in 2015,
Senator Nwaoboshi has not received any contract award or executed any
for the Delta state government. These facts can be verified from Delta
state government records.
“The inconsistency in lies dished out by the Interim management
committee of NDDC against Senator Peter Nwaoboshi easily exposes the
laughable attempt to smear an innocent man. First they alleged he was
receiving 1billion Naira monthly as consultancy fee. Same NDDC admitted
that the allegation is false. They later turned around to allege that he
received 1000 contracts. When that again fell like every other, the
narrative changed to 350 contracts. All of a sudden, it has all
collapsed to 11 contracts. Soon, the number shall obviously come to
zero. That is the ways of lies; they crumble like pack of cards.
“On this note, Senator Nwaoboshi challenges NDDC to allow for
independent investigation of all contract awarded by the commission and
see if findings would not show that Akpabio is the greatest beneficiary
of contract awards and looter of the commission.