The forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, is
\naimed at restoring sanity and prudence in the management of the
\nCommission, and will ensure the rapid development of the Niger Delta
\nregion.<\/p>\n
Speaking while handing over the preliminary report and documents of the
\nverification exercise to the lead consultants of the audit, Olumuyiwa
\nBasiru & Co., at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, the Acting
\nManaging Director, Professor Kemebradikumo Pondei, disclosed that over
\n8,000 projects were captured throughout the nine states.<\/p>\n
The NDDC Chief Executive Officer said that the report, containing
\ncontract documents covering projects captured during the NDDC’s
\nverification exercise, marked the take-off of the critical next phase of
\nthe forensic audit. Present at the ceremony were the Acting Executive
\nDirector, Finance and Administration, Chief Ibanga Bassey Etang and the
\nActing Executive Director Projects,\u00a0 Dr Cairo Ojougboh.<\/p>\n
Pondei noted that one of the key mandates given to the Interim
\nManagement Committee, IMC, was to prepare the grounds for the Forensic
\nAudit of the activities of the Commission for the period 2001 to 2019.<\/p>\n
He said: “Between January 20th and February 7th 2020, the Commission
\n(under the previous Interim Management Committee) carried out a
\nverification exercise in which Contractors with claims of genuine
\ncontractual relationship with the NDDC were invited to come with
\nrelevant documents supporting their claims, for verification.<\/p>\n
“In all, over 8,000 projects were captured during the periods of the
\ncapturing\/verification exercise and documents submitted were captured
\nagainst pre-defined criteria on a data sheet per project (Contract
\nVerification Checklist) which were thereafter uploaded on the
\nCommission’s server and cloud-based system.”<\/p>\n
The NDDC boss thanked President Buhari for listening to the pleas of
\ngovernors of the Niger Delta states and other stakeholders to conduct a
\nforensic audit on the commission, noting: “This audit is not for
\nauditing sake. It is an exercise which will change the trajectory of the
\nregion. It is an objective undertaking to account for the resources
\navailable to the Commission over the years.”<\/p>\n
“It will enable us bring to account those who misappropriated the
\ncommonwealth. It will equip us with the relevant insight to institute
\nprocedures and processes to guarantee that the Commission realizes the
\nvision of its founders. That vision can be interpreted as the rapid
\ndevelopment of the Niger Delta to create an economy that will serve the
\nneeds of its people long after the oil resources are gone.”<\/p>\n
Pondei said: “Since the forensic audit was announced, the attacks on the
\ninterim management committee as the Hon Minister has reached fever
\npitch. Those who took part in the grand conspiracy to loot the
\ncommonwealth are jittery that their misdeeds will come to light. We wish
\nwe could sympathise with them. But it could have occurred to them that a
\nday of reckoning will come. The fear of the impunity of their past
\nmisdeeds being brought to light is causing panic. In fact, the vultures
\nare shivering. Let us place on record that no amount of intimidation,
\ncampaign of falsehood and ‘breakdancing’ will abort this exercise.<\/p>\n
“We wish to commend the Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs and Chairman
\nof the Presidential Monitoring Committee on the Commission, Senator
\nGodswill Akpabio, for his doggedness and determination to bring this
\nexercise to light. His uncommon passion for the development of the
\nregion is already changing the narrative of attitude on the part of
\nother stakeholders.”<\/p>\n
Responding, the Principal Partner and Lead Consultant for the forensic
\naudit, Mr Kabiru Ahmed, lamented that the amount of resources poured in
\nto the NDDC over the years did not match the development recorded over
\nthe period.<\/p>\n
He said: “Hopefully after the exercise, a new chapter would be opened
\nfor the region’s rapid economic development, as well as reversing the
\nfailures recorded in order to recover these resources recoverable and
\nplug the gaps and stop the waste that is keeping the region under
\ndeveloped.<\/p>\n
“The forensic audit, therefore, should be seen as an opportunity and not
\na witch-hunt, it is an important process that will apart from righting
\nthe wrongs that kept the region in penury and under development, it will
\nat the end provide a strong base upon which a new Niger delta
\ndevelopment commission will be built.”<\/p>\n
He said that work on the project commenced since January 2020, stating:
\n“It is our belief that at the end of this forensic audit exercise in
\nnine months’ time, a new development agency will eventually emerge. This
\nis the vision and mission of the forensic audit exercise. It is a rescue
\nmission that must be allowed to succeed for the betterment of the good
\npeople of the Niger delta region.”<\/p>\n
Speaking on the work plan for the forensic audit, the Managing Partner
\nof the lead Consultants, Mr Olumuyiwa Basiru, said that the activities
\nwould be carried out in two parts with several stages. He said that the
\nfinal report would be submitted by the lead consultant to Mr. President,
\nthrough the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs in January 2021.<\/p>\n
The forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, is aimed at restoring sanity and prudence in the management of the Commission, and will ensure the rapid development of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":72966,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n