Niger Delta Development Watch (NDDW) has called on the Economic and
\nFinancial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices
\nCommission (ICPC) to investigate the financial activities and transactions
\nof the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) since inception.<\/p>\n
The group, through its Coordinator, Joseph Ebelo, said the investigation
\nhad become necessary in order to track the over N5 trillion that has been
\nexpended on the Niger Delta region through the NDDC without commensurate
\ninfrastructure development on ground to show for the humongous
\nexpenditure.<\/p>\n
According to the group, \u201cThe NDDC was an interventionist agency of the
\nOlusegun Obasanjo administration in 1999 to cushion and alleviate the
\nprevailing poverty in the Niger Delta region, but instead the Commission
\nhas not improved the economic and social wellbeing of the down-trodden
\npeople of the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
The group said that a member of the House of Representatives, Hon Nicholas
\nMutu (an Ijaw from Delta state), who has been chairing the Committee on
\nNDDC since 1999, should be held responsible for the misappropriation of
\nfunds budgeted annually by successive administrations, because of his
\ncomplicity in many of the deals as well as failure of oversight.<\/p>\n
It alleged that Mutu has been colluding with some top officials of the
\nNDDC and contractors to defraud the Commission of tax-payers\u2019 money in the
\naward of contracts that were never executed.<\/p>\n
The group referred to the multi-billion naira Nworie River Dredging
\ncontract, among others, which was never executed while payments were made
\nto Roudo Nigeria Limited owned by Chief Tony Chukwu, who was said to have
\nbeen awarded a contract before the 2015 general election by the NDCC to
\nsupply 50 Toyota Prado Jeeps.\u00a0 He allegedly failed to also execute the
\ncontract.<\/p>\n
A former Imo State governor (Ikedi Ohakim), the group alleged, was also
\ninvolved in the bogus Nworie River Dredging contract.<\/p>\n
According to the group, \u201cSo much money has been siphoned from the NDDC
\ncoffers through contractors and many other phony deals through the
\ninstrumentality of the Hon Nichola Mutu-led Committee on NDDC in the House
\nof Representatives.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe buck stops at his table as the Chairman of the NDDC Committee since
\n1999. Rather than ensure proper oversight of the activities of the NDDC in
\norder to accelerate infrastructure development of the region through
\njudicious use of funds, he has promoted his pecuniary interests over and
\nabove the collective interest of the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
The group said Hon Mutu, who has won re-election into the 8th National
\nAssembly, must be called to account, threatening that that it would not
\nsit idly and watch him perpetuate himself as live chairman of the NDDC
\nCommittee in the House of Representatives only for his personal
\naggrandisement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the hard stance of the President Muhammadu Buhari\u2019s administration
\nagainst corruption will hold sway, matters like this one which has denied
\nthe oil-rich region of the Niger Delta its right to rapid development,
\nshould be quickly dealt with through a comprehensive probe of the
\nfinancial activities of the Commission since it was established.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe therefore call on the security and anti-corruption agencies like the
\nEFCC and the ICPC to swing into action of investigating those who are
\ninvolved in the alleged looting and financial misappropriation in the NDDC
\nsince its inception, including a certain Deputy Director (Projects) from
\nDelta state, who is fingered in the sale of contract papers to highest
\nbidders and putting up documents for payment for contractors in whom he
\nhas vested interests,\u201d the group said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Niger Delta Development Watch (NDDW) has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to investigate the financial activities and transactions of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n